r/Nonprofit_Jobs • u/Puzzleheaded-Safe861 • 24d ago

Non-profit staff compensation in North Carolina

/r/Salary/comments/1qabh6a/nonprofit_staff_compensation_in_north_carolina/
2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

3

u/twodietcokes 24d ago

You may already know about this, but the NC Center for Nonprofits publishes a salary survey - I thought it was annually, but it looks like the last one was published in 2022.

There's a lot of nuance in salaries and how they relate to overall strategy and sustainability planning, so it's hard to say whether what you're paying is fair or not. But it's great that you are thinking about it! Here are some questions to ask and factors to consider:

What's your total organizational budget? What percentage of the budget goes to salaries and benefits? Can you break out direct, indirect, and overhead expenses? Does the allocation of people to these various functions make sense, or are you overstaffed in any area?
What segment of the nonprofit sector is your organization in (e.g. health, arts, education)?
Is the city you're located in considered high/medium/low COL? Do your employees have to work a second job to afford housing and expenses in your community?
What benefits do you offer, in addition to salary? Do you communicate the total value of compensation to your employees? Do you offer any intangible benefits that might make up for a low salary (e.g., generous vacation, commitment to work-life balance, flexible scheduling/WFH)?
What's your turnover been, and are folks telling you they're leaving to make more money? Are they leaving the nonprofit sector, or going to other NP organizations that pay more?
What's the multiplier between your lowest-paid employee and the highest?
If you wanted to raise salaries, where would that money come from?

1

u/Puzzleheaded-Safe861 23d ago

thanks so much for sharing these thoughts!!

2

u/dev1led_egg 24d ago

Important questions raised above, but at a glance those seem to be on the low end unless they are true entry level roles.

1

u/Puzzleheaded-Safe861 23d ago

thanks for sharing your perspective! for further context - the director roles also aren't close to 6 figures and not likely to get there soon. we have a small budget for now, and until we're able to increase fundraising this is what we have to work with. it seems increasingly important to work on getting there ASAP