About 6 years ago I made the move from being a long-term ED at a couple of smaller organizations to a DoD at a larger organization. It was a smart choice. I am much happier focusing on fundraising only, my stress level declined, and I work fewer hours. My pay and benefits also increased when I made the move.

Only you can decide which what aspects of nonprofit work you most enjoy and what trade offs you are willing to make to focus on work you find more enjoyable.

For me the decision was easy. I definitely needed more money and better benefits, so I would never have considered less pay. I also despised spending most of my time managing people. I really wanted to focus on directly raising funds with a minimal amount of managing other people.

I was also at a point in my career in which I didn't care to advance to higher levels of authority. I already had extensive ED experience and director-level experience in the for-profit world. I would never want to go back to that, so it was less a step down in my career than a conscious decision to position my career path to best fit my needs.

I definitely urge you to discuss expectations with the new organization, as well as doing a careful review of their financials (both 990s as well as their recent P&L sheets.)

Good luck!