06/12/2019

The “Reward” For Work Still Isn’t Money At Nonprofits

Low salaries are the no. 1 complaint of people working in the sector

One of the classic refrains about nonprofit work is that those doing it will feel so rewarded. As in, emotionally—not financially. “Most of us who entered the nonprofit field didn’t do so because of the Benjamins,” wrote Vu Le, who runs the popular nonprofit blog Nonprofit AF. “However, it’s gotten ridiculous, and too many nonprofits just suck at determining salaries and paying their staff fairly.”

Le, who is also the executive director for the social justice nonprofit Rainier Valley Corps in the Seattle area, wasn’t just venting. He had some concrete suggestions for how to change things, including asking current leaders to research what a competitive salary region should really look like, and budgeting to proactively address unfair pay gaps among employees. Two new reports show that the problem still exists, and it’s hurting morale.

The first comes from Classy, a fundraising software company that surveyed more than 1,000 nonprofit employees. Classy found that while 84 percent of workers feel generally satisfied in their job roles, 50 percent feel like the biggest institutional issue their group needs to address is compensation.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Fast Company.