Partners HealthCare System CEO leads in compensation

James J. Mongan, chief executive of Partners HealthCare System, in Boston, is the highest paid chief executive among the nation's largest nonprofits in a new survey released today by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. He earned $1,371,399 in total compensation, just head of Henry S. Bienen, president of Northwestern University, who took second place.

Chief executives at the nation’s biggest charities and foundations received a median pay increase of 5 percent, outpacing inflation which rose by 4.1 percent, according to the survey. The 5-percent increase represents the biggest one-year raise for nonprofit leaders since the 7.5-percent median increase reported in The Chronicle’s 2002 survey. The median salary for chief executives at the organizations surveyed was $326,500, up from $308,800 in 2006.

Despite the slowing economy, the survey predicts that compensation of nonprofit executives may continue to rise this year as charity boards are increasingly recruiting for-profit executives to make the switch to the nonprofit world, sweetening pay packages to lure out-of-town candidates who may need to sell their home at a loss as part of a move.

The Chronicle survey was based on information provided by 291 organizations that are among those that raised the most money from private sources in 2007, as well as grant makers that held the most in assets that year. (By Jenn Abelson, Globe staff)