I understand that it's generally some pretty heavy hitter well-connected people who serve on grantmaking foundation boards. However, what I knew a lot less was that some 65% of folks who serve on foundation boards are actually paid. According to NPT:
Among respondents who do compensate their board members, most (65 percent) provide all board members with fixed fees, such as annual, committee-based, or per-board-meeting fees. The median amount of compensation paid to the board as a whole is $50,750.
The median annual fee for board chairs is $18,000 ($10,000 for other board members), the median board meeting fee is $1,000, and the median committee meeting fee is $650. For other board members, the median annual fee is $10,000, and the median board meeting fee is $1,000.
I guess I kind-of believed that many if not most of the folks serving on foundations had wealth or were well paid corporate execs. Maybe that's true or not given the following composition stats:
* Respondents indicated that the majority of board membership is male (nearly 62 percent).
* Approximately three-quarters of board members (74 percent) are over age 50, followed by 18 percent who are age 40 to 49. Family foundations reported the largest share of board members under age 40 (16 percent).
* A significant majority of board members are white (85 percent), with African-Americans making up 7 percent, Hispanics 4 percent, and Asian/Pacific Islanders 2 percent.
* Some 16 percent reported having at least one lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender board member while 29 percent reported having a written policy regarding board diversity.