C3 Nonprofit Consulting Group surveys are designed to deliver actionable insights and practical data for nonprofit organizations.
Current survey offerings include:
- Foundation Board Practices Survey
- Endowment and Foundation Investment Staff Compensation Survey
- Annual Nonprofit Salary Planning Survey
- Pulse surveys on trending topics in the nonprofit environment
- Recent topics include Executive Relocation Benefits and Remote Work.
- Custom Nonprofit Surveys
- Large YMCA Executive Compensation Survey
- Association of Independent Research Institutes (AIRI) Compensation and Benefits Survey
- Custom CEO, executive team, and board performance evaluations
Interested in Conducting a Survey for Your Nonprofit Organization?
C3 can help you design and deliver a survey that provides credible, actionable insights while ensuring a smooth experience from launch through final reporting.
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Participation Information
Participation in our surveys is made easy through our online data collection tool, which provides a secure, encrypted portal for data submission. Participants receive exclusive, discounted pricing on valuable data and reports and early access to survey results.
ParticipateThe results are in! Get your copy of the 2026 survey report.
PurchasePlease note: C3 Nonprofit Consulting Group is a division of SullivanCotter. This survey will be administered and sold by SullivanCotter.
Survey Samples
Download a sample of the 2025 survey report.
Reduced Pricing for Participants
2026 Survey Participants:
$1,700
2026 Early Submission Discount:
$300 off participant price
Nonparticipants:
$6,800
Key Dates
Participation opens:
January 6, 2026
Deadline for early submission discount:
January 30, 2026
Deadline for participation:
February 20, 2026
Benchmarks publication:
May 2026
Current status:
Closed for participation
Questions?
If you have any questions about the survey, please contact our Survey Team by phone at 888.739.7039 or by email at surveys@sullivancotter.com.
Foundation Board Practices Survey
Understanding Board Governance, Demographics, and Compensation
This inaugural survey is designed to establish industry standards that will strengthen the philanthropic sector by providing comprehensive insight into board composition and structure, governance best practices, member demographics, time commitment, board effectiveness, compensation program prevalence, value and design, and more.
Survey Highlights
- Data from over 60 private and community foundations
- Current and projected costs of board compensation
- Detailed board structure insights including term limits, committees, expertise requirements and time commitment.
- Insight into key board compensation components such as role-specific retainer, meeting fees, matching and discretionary grants program participation, and more.
Participation Timeline
Survey Launch
September 25, 2025
Submission Deadline
October 31, 2025
Results Published
December 2025
Interested in learning more? We would love to hear from you!
Contact us
Latest Posts
Stay updated with our recent articles and insights.
C3 Nonprofit Consulting Group Releases New National Foundation Board Practices Survey Highlighting the Evolution of Modern Governance
Our new research highlights the widespread use of board term limits, robust performance evaluation practices, and the prevalence of board compensation among foundations.
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FAOG for Community Foundations | 2026 Annual Conference
We’ll be presenting a session entitled Beyond Benchmarking: Compensation Strategies for a Changing Foundation Workforce.
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VIDEO | The Return of Performance Awards
Thoughtful performance rewards can be a powerful way to connect daily work to the broader impact your organization is striving to achieve.
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The Modern Foundation Board is Taking Shape
A new study shows more term limits, greater attention to board demographics, and a shift toward actively engaged – and increasingly compensated – board members.
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VIDEO | The Important Distinction Between Cost of Living and Cost of Labor
C3’s Jen Givens walks through the difference and explains how nonprofits can use both to make more informed and strategic salary budget decisions.
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VIDEO | Leadership Transition: Is Your Organization Ready?
C3’s Nanci Hibschman shares key data and insights on why succession planning is essential to sustaining mission continuity, along with practical steps boards can take to build leadership pipelines, strengthen CEO performance partnerships, and prepare for what lies ahead.
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VIDEO | Nonprofit Executive Compensation Best Practices
C3’s Nanci Hibschman walks through a 10-step checklist boards can use to mitigate risk and strengthen executive compensation oversight in a complex regulatory environment.
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2026 SHRM Annual Conference
C3 Nonprofit Consulting Group is honored to be a returning guest presenter for the third time at the 2026 SHRM Annual Conference & Expo.
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2026 Foundation HR Alliance Summit
Mark your calendars for our popular annual event! Join foundation people leaders from across the country for an opportunity to connect, share insights, and explore the talent and culture topics that matter most to our sector.
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VIDEO | Ensuring Reasonable Executive Compensation
Nanci Hibschman discusses how to establish the rebuttable presumption of reasonableness and outlines a clear process organizations can follow to protect their organization and ensure executive pay remains compliant, competitive, and reasonable.
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Indiana Alliance of YMCAs | Virtual Volunteer Summit
C3 Nonprofit Consulting Group is excited to participate in this impactful event hosted by the Indiana Alliance of YMCAs. We’ll be presenting a session on executive compensation and governance!
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VIDEO | Pay Transparency: Moving from Compliance to Understanding
Many organizations are sharing more pay information. But without internal alignment, transparency can create confusion instead of trust. Employees want to understand the logic behind pay decisions.
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