Grants director vs executive director

The differences between grants directors and executive directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a grants director and an executive director. Additionally, an executive director has an average salary of $127,956, which is higher than the $104,928 average annual salary of a grants director.

The top three skills for a grants director include grants management, financial reports and proposal preparation. The most important skills for an executive director are oversight, patients, and customer service.

Grants director vs executive director overview

	Grants Director	Executive Director
Yearly salary	$104,928	$127,956
Hourly rate	$50.45	$61.52
Growth rate	8%	-8%
Number of jobs	15,964	97,471
Job satisfaction	-	4.5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	42	49
Years of experience	4	4

Grants director vs executive director salary

Grants directors and executive directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Grants Director	Executive Director
Average salary	$104,928	$127,956
Salary range	Between $64,000 And $169,000	Between $76,000 And $213,000
Highest paying City	San Jose, CA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	California	New York
Best paying company	Broward Health	Genentech
Best paying industry	Health Care	Finance

Differences between grants director and executive director education

There are a few differences between a grants director and an executive director in terms of educational background:

	Grants Director	Executive Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	University of Pennsylvania

Grants director vs executive director demographics

Here are the differences between grants directors' and executive directors' demographics:

	Grants Director	Executive Director
Average age	42	49
Gender ratio	Male, 32.9% Female, 67.1%	Male, 47.0% Female, 53.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 5.1% White, 74.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 5.0% White, 71.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	16%	10%

Differences between grants director and executive director duties and responsibilities

Grants director example responsibilities.

Manage staff responsible for all aspects of solicitation, budget oversight, compliance, site visits and audit process.
Lead the facility in implementing person-centered care/hospitality philosophy, electronic medical records, maximization of Medicare reimbursement, and alternative therapies.
Serve on the hospital IRB.
Conduct research for preparation of NIH grant.
Prepare grant proposals, including all HRSA grants.
Write and submit grants utilizing grants.gov and HRSA's EHB.

Executive director example responsibilities.

Manage 10 department heads who supervise a staff of 350 FTE's.
Develop and manage sales teams to assure the highest ROI on the client's investment.
Create and manage a call center for lead programs to support the prospecting activity needs of the FSR.
Freelance blogging to increase website views and ultimately to turn organic content into leads and ROI for small businesses.
Market and manage group and individual insurance programs including health, life, disability, long term care and annuities.
Major accomplishment are to achieve initial NAEYC accreditation.

Grants director vs executive director skills

Common grants director skills

Grants Management, 16%
Financial Reports, 10%
Proposal Preparation, 6%
Technical Assistance, 6%
Federal Guidelines, 5%
Program Development, 5%

Common executive director skills

Oversight, 10%
Patients, 9%
Customer Service, 5%
Financial Management, 5%
Business Development, 4%
Home Health, 4%

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Grants Director
Grants Director vs Executive Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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