CEO pay at US community foundations and grantmakers, ranked
This list ranks 18 community foundations and grantmakers by what they paid their CEO, using each one's latest full-year IRS Form 990. Every row links to the return it comes from. This is a partial list: 74 of the 94 foundations and grantmakers that meet the definition do not have pages on this site yet.
Last updated from IRS e-file data.
What counts as a foundation or grantmaker here
Community foundations, Jewish federations and other grantmaking public charities that file a full Form 990. National donor-advised fund sponsors are not included. Each must report at least $100 million in total revenue (Part I, line 12) on its latest full-year return. 94 organizations meet the definition: 18 are ranked here, and 74 do not have pages on this site yet.
Each row is the return that reports the chief executive's pay, and the revenue shown is that return's own. Affiliates that list the same executive as the ranked return are left out so one person's pay is not listed twice.
Two more that meet the definition, Gift Clearing Trust and Crossseed Texas Non Profit, aren't ranked because their latest returns report no pay for anyone listed.
The ranking
The chief executive on each organization's latest full-year return, or the highest-paid person where no title marks one. Each row is a different return, so each links to its own filing.
The percentile compares each row's pay / revenue with organizations of similar revenue across this site, not only this list, because the site has fewer than 20 foundations and grantmakers. Rows in different revenue bands are compared with different groups, so similar shares can show different percentiles.
| Rank | Organization and CEO | Total pay | Year ending | Revenue | Pay / revenue | Share percentile | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Blue Meridian PartnersNancy RoobCEO CEO | $1,549,315 | Sep 2025 | $900,250,446 | 0.17% | 59% | Filing |
| 2 |  Pew Charitable TrustsSusan K UrahnCEO President and CEO | $1,286,231 | Jun 2025 | $467,971,224 | 0.27% | 28% | Filing |
| 3 |  Silicon Valley Community FoundationNicole TaylorCEO President & CEO | $1,268,486 | Dec 2024 | $4,889,245,872 | 0.03% | 2% | Filing |
| 4 |  Robin Hood FoundationRichard Buery JrCEO CEO / NON-VOTING DIRECTOR | $1,041,339 | Dec 2024 | $180,479,570 | 0.58% | 61% | Filing |
| 5 |  UJA-Federation of New YorkEric S GoldsteinCEO CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER | $1,022,711 | Jun 2025 | $350,493,949 | 0.29% | 34% | Filing |
| 6 |  Columbus FoundationDouglas F KridlerCEO PRESIDENT & CEO | $1,012,706 | Dec 2024 | $411,632,853 | 0.25% | 23% | Filing |
| 7 |  Suzanne & Walter Scott FoundationCalvin SissonCEO PRESIDENT & CEO | $973,900 | Dec 2024 | $480,205,807 | 0.20% | 18% | Filing |
| 8 |  Dayton FoundationMichael M ParksCEO PRESIDENT/SECRETARY | $953,481 | Jun 2025 | $131,240,042 | 0.73% | 74% | Filing |
| 9 |  Boston FoundationM Lee PeltonCEO President & CEO | $915,854 | Jun 2025 | $426,656,046 | 0.21% | 20% | Filing |
| 10 |  Jewish Federations of North AmericaEric FingerhutCEO PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERSee note 1. | $852,662 | Jun 2025 | $435,156,966 | 0.20% | 16% | Filing |
| 11 |  George Kaiser Family FoundationKen LevitCEO Exec. Director | $791,481 | Dec 2024 | $549,695,640 | 0.14% | 47% | Filing |
| 12 |  Rockefeller Philanthropy AdvisorsLatanya MappCEO PRESIDENT AND CEO (AS OF 01/2024)See note 2. | $747,111 | Dec 2024 | $706,026,148 | 0.11% | 30% | Filing |
| 13 |  Foundation for the CarolinasCathy BessantCEO CEO | $737,104 | Dec 2024 | $761,389,623 | 0.10% | 26% | Filing |
| 14 |  Marin Community FoundationRhea SuhCEO PRESIDENT & CEO | $732,783 | Jun 2025 | $374,829,985 | 0.20% | 15% | Filing |
| 15 |  California Community FoundationMiguel SantanaCEO PRESIDENT & CEO | $731,053 | Jun 2025 | $386,569,507 | 0.19% | 14% | Filing |
| 16 |  Chicago Community TrustAndrea SaenzCEO President & CEO | $685,048 | Sep 2025 | $2,143,553,763 | 0.03% | 3% | Filing |
| 17 |  San Francisco FoundationFred BlackwellCEO CEO | $670,879 | Jun 2025 | $358,598,652 | 0.19% | 13% | Filing |
| 18 |  Saint Paul & Minnesota FoundationChanda Smith BakerCEO PRESIDENT & CEO | $205,055 | Dec 2025 | $210,840,402 | 0.10% | 5% | Filing |
- 1.United Israel Appeal, whose staff are paid by the Jewish Federations of North America, files its own return and is listed on its own page.
- 2.More than one person held the top job during the year this return covers. The row shows Latanya Mapp ("PRESIDENT AND CEO (AS OF 01/2024)"); the return also lists Melissa A Berman ("PRESIDENT AND CEO (THRU 01/2024)"), $438,065.
More rankings: Highest-paid nonprofit CEOs, CEO pay at major US nonprofits, CEO pay at nonprofit hospital systems, University president pay, all 17 rankings, or search every organization.
About the data
Every figure comes from a Form 990 e-file return the organization submitted to the IRS, which the IRS publishes as open data. Each row uses one return and links to it. We don't estimate, round or combine years; column F is the organization's own estimate of other compensation.
- Which return
- The most recent return that covers a full year. Short-year returns, filed when an organization changes its fiscal year, cover only a few months and are not used as the latest year. Where a return was amended, the amended version is used.
- What “total” means
- Part VII columns D, E and F added together: reportable pay from the organization, reportable pay from related organizations, and estimated other compensation. We add them up; each organization's page shows the three amounts separately.
- Timing
- Returns are due up to 10½ months after the fiscal year ends and appear in IRS data anywhere from about 4 to 18 months after the year ends, so the latest year here is often a year or more old.
- Who counts as CEO
- The person whose filed title names them chief executive (CEO, chief executive officer or executive director), or, where no one has one of those titles, a plain "President" or head of school. At a university it is the president or chancellor. If no one has any of these titles, we show the highest-paid person and say so. Totals and percentages labeled as calculated are our arithmetic on figures from one filing.
The full rules are on the methodology page. To report an error or ask for a review, email corrections@ceopaycheck.com.
Common questions
Of the 18 ranked so far, the top total is $1,549,315 for Nancy Roob, CEO of Blue Meridian Partners, on its return for the fiscal year ending September 2025. Next is Susan K Urahn of Pew Charitable Trusts at $1,286,231. Totals are Part VII columns D, E and F added together, so they include pay from related organizations and the organization's estimate of other compensation, such as retirement contributions. This is a partial list: 74 more that meet the definition do not have pages on this site yet.
Across these 18 the median is $884,258 (our calculation). 6 reported $1,000,000 or more for their CEO or top-paid person, and 17 reported $500,000 or more. The median share is 0.19% of the ranked return's revenue, our calculation from the same return.
The list covers organizations whose latest full-year Form 990 reports at least $100 million in total revenue, one row per organization. Affiliates that list the same executive as another return are left out so one person's pay is not counted twice. 74 more that meet the definition do not have pages on this site yet.