Opinion|Low Compensation Effects All Nonprofit Workers — Not Just Gen Z

To the Editor:

Members of Gen Z are not unique in their wish to be fairly compensated in the nonprofit world. (“Gen Z is Open to Nonprofit Careers — but on Their Own Terms,” February 6.) We all want enough to live comfortably. We go into nonprofit work with our eyes wide open, understanding that much more will be asked of us in return for much less than we would earn in the for-profit world. We don’t go into it expecting to get rich.

This isn’t about Gen Z. It’s about the so-called “culture of austerity” that underlies the notion that nonprofits should succeed in their mission with significantly less operational spending than their for-profit counterparts. Since staff compensation is quite often the most significant expense in any business — and yes, nonprofits are a business — the very people who wish to do the greatest good in the world are the most poorly compensated. Low staff compensation is the most obvious and logical way to reduce costs. It’s also the single most damning aspect of the nonprofit world’s reputation as potential employers.

Abolishing the culture of austerity is the only way to achieve compensation equity between nonprofits and the rest of the world. This has little to do with Gen Z — they’re just being loud about it — and everything to do with unreasonable budgetary expectations foisted upon nonprofits. Until this changes, nonprofits will continue to struggle to attract talent from any generation.

Erin White
Membership Manager
Naples Botanical Garden