THE STORY
One of my earliest jobs in the nonprofit world was rewarding and challenging and absolutely impossible to do successfully with the amount of work it entailed and the time in which I had to do it. I worked tirelessly but really tirefully because I was exhausted all the time. Once, when I came back from a vacation, I had so much to catch up on, it took me 2 weeks to return what I knew would be a 10-minute phone call because I could not seem to find the ten minutes it needed. Making the world a better place was no small feat.
After a couple of years of late nights and weekends, I was able to get things mostly under control and eventually settled into a predictable level of chaos rather than an utterly unmanageable one. It was still exhausting, but with a strong focus and attention to detail, I learned how to make it work. I hired additional staff, put some much-needed systems into place, worked through our paperwork backlog, boosted enrollment in our programs and won a few new grants. The changes were noticeable, impactful and really, really hard-won. I was as proud as I was tired, and I was ready to approach my boss about being better compensated for it. Not only was I providing great value, I was working countless extra hous and juggling a second job.
Our organization was not known for paying well, inside of a nonprofit world that was not known for paying well, so it is true that I knew what I was getting myself into when I joined. At the same time, the long hours precluded me from working as many hours at my second job as I was used to and I needed that money simply to make ends meet. Living in one of the most expensive cities in the country only added to the challenge. Two jobs, two Master’s degrees, and I could barely pay my rent each month.
I was confident approaching my boss about this raise, because I knew I was underpaid, and I knew that I brought great value to the position. Additionally, I had brought money into the organization while saving the organization money by reducing staff turnover and increasing enrollment in my programs. I could not think of any reason why my boss would deny my request.
Well-prepared and self-assured, I made my case to my boss who paused only briefuly before telling me they needed time to think about it. Slightly disappointing, but I understood organizational bureaucracy and remained positive. We agreed to meet again in a couple of weeks. But then we didn’t. I kept reaching out to reschedule and I kept not hearing back. At one point, we did schedule an appointment only to have it canceled by my boss the morning of. It was clear that the follow up conversation was not as much of a priority for my boss as it was for me.
THE CONVERSATION
Finally, nearly 3 months after our initial conversation, I sat down once again with my boss to talk about a raise. Shortly after sitting, my boss leaned back in his chair, did one of those dramatic eyeglass removal maneuvers, looked me in the eye and said, “I’ve thought a lot about your request, and it’s important for you to know that we are looking for people who want to work here (emphasis theirs), not people who are just here for the money (emphasis mine.) And besides, you are getting paid exactly what you deserve (emphasis universe).” I resigned shortly after.
At this point, there were several other reasons for me to resign, but this moment really highighted and encapsulated all of them. I could no longer justify working on behalf of those who were not getting paid fairly while not getting paid fairly myself. I could no longer tolerate the hypocrisy of paying my team so far less than they deserved that they qualified for all the programs and services we provided to the impoverished in our community. I could no longer work for an organization that tried to guilt and shame me into taking less than a living wage in the name of social justice and the greater good. It was total and complete bullshit and it’s happening at nonprofits all over the country.
Perhaps it is because social work got its roots in charities and churches, relying on the kindness of mostly women who had both the time and resources to share generously and without pay. In many ways, it seems that the field has never completely moved on from this mentatlity to embrace the profession it claims to be today. Maybe it’s because it is a field dominated by women and is therefore destined to not be respected or compensated fairly. Whatever the case, the culture of sacrificial pay and chaotic conditions has persisted in the nonprofit world because 1) organizations perpetuate it and 2) staffs tolerate it.
THE LESSON
In order to serve our clients as effectively as possible, we need a qualified and stable staff who are given the support, resources and rest they need to do their jobs well. In order to do this, we need to shift our culture from one of sacrifice to one of professionalism and high-quality. We need to focus on finding and developing the best talent we possibly can to provide the best service we possibly can to our clients. We need to invest in deepening our talent at every from the executive director to the most entry level. We need to push our boards and funders to abandon the disastrous approach of simply getting by and perpetuating the lie that low pay is the only way to be successful. In reality, it is just the opposite. Saving money on staff compensation is costing our organizations deeply. Because when we operate this way, we lose our talent which ensures that we lose our potential impact on our clients.
We need to recognize that people who want to do good in the world also deserve to be compensated fairly. We need to appreciate that people who are overworked and under supported will not stick around along or worse still, will stay and do just enough not to get fired. We need to provide the same levels of care, support and service to our teams as we do to those they serve. We need to stop taking our talent for granted and instead focus on creating environments that ensure they stick around and serve our clients as effectively as possible.
It is dangerous and disingenuous to guilt our staffs into taking less money because they have chosen a life of service. Particularly if we are at the executive level making far more than they are. Our staffs are drawn to the field because of mission, but mission does not pay the babysitter, or the car note or the water bill, and it does not demand the respect that it should. And if we end up only hiring those who can afford to work for low pay, we are doing a disservice that has no place in a field whose values include equity and community.
THE SOLUTION
As a leader, pay attention to the messages you are sending, both in your words and in your actions to your team and to those they serve. Are you doing all you can to pay them as they deserve? Are you sending messages- explicitly or otherwise- that you value staff who are there for the mission and not the money? Do you not offer health insurance because everyone on staff is married and is able to use their spouse’s, but then you hire someone who is single? Do you limit vacation and sick time and/or insinuate that using that time signifies a lack of dedication? Do you try to lowball staff during contract negotiations? Do you accept a constant rotation of staff because that’s just the way it is, and you have convinced yourself that there is nothing you can do about it? Do you advocate to your board and your funders that staff pay is a top priority?
Our work is important and rewarding and really, really hard. If anything, we should be getting paid more for it, not less. In order to most effectively serve your clients, you must hire and retain high-quality staff. In order to do this, you must compensate them as they deserve. In your next board meeting, your next strategic plan, your next budget, your next grant application, you need to make your case for why staff compensation needs to improve and you need to stop taking no for an answer. Choose board members who get it. Apply for grants that get it. Make sure you get it. It is the greatest, most impactful way you can serve your clients.
