Want to pay staff more? Here’s how to raise the money
Leaders who’ve done it share how to raise more — from donors big and small — and pay staff what they deserve.
By Rasheeda Childress
Senior Editor, Fundraising
August 6, 2026 | Read Time: 8 minutes
A couple of years ago, Will Zweigart was stressed. Flatbush Cats, the nonprofit he founded in 2018, was in an expansion phase.
“We were trying to buy the building, paying for construction, hiring a team, building equipment, burning cash, and I was trying to fundraise for payroll two or three months out,” he says. “We had a lot of momentum, but we never seemed to be able to raise enough, and we were constantly working too much.”
Zweigart says he realized he “never wanted to be in this position again” so he hired a fundraising coach, who changed his fundraising philosophy and helped him raise more unrestricted major gifts to raise wages.
Where Zweigart started is where many nonprofits are today: feeling under the gun to raise money to meet payroll. The idea of paying staff more by raising more money may feel like an impossible hurdle. But Zweigart — and others who advocate for paying nonprofit staff higher wages — offer advice on how to do it.
Ask funders to cover the true cost of your work.
One reason nonprofits have trouble funding well-paid staff is they undervalue the work, says Cathy Taylor, former executive director of the Ontario Nonprofit Network, where she led efforts to raise nonprofit pay. Now Taylor has moved to the other side, as president and CEO of the Lawson Foundation. She’s seen nonprofits afraid to ask for grants that cover the real costs of doing work — fearing an expensive ask will be turned down.
“As a funder, I want to see the real cost of the program or service,” she says. “You’re not helping yourself or other organizations by underselling what the cost is.”
Set ambitious goals, then reverse-engineer your strategy.
Not shying away from the true cost of your work is a good first step. Next, stretch your fundraising goals beyond the current norms, says Courtney Thomas, CEO of Newhouse KC, a nonprofit that helps people escaping domestic violence.
“Don’t be unrealistic,” she says. “Don’t say, ‘With no support, we’re going to increase revenues by 25 percent.’ You’re just going to set yourself up for failure that way.”
But if you have 100 donors giving at various levels, consider saying, “I want to increase the giving amount by X,” Thomas says. “Reverse-engineer that plan. If you need to secure 25 more donors this year, how can you get there? Sometimes people are just afraid. Don’t limit yourself.”
Zweigart suggests shifting from a scarcity mindset to one of abundance — where you believe there is enough generosity to fulfill your mission and pay your staff well.
“I know that sounds like fluffy language, but it is a fundamental philosophy for us now,” Zweigart says. “We believe there are enough resources out there that we can set incredibly ambitious goals.”
Major gifts are the fastest path to unrestricted money.
Many who have success with fundraising find it with individuals, particularly major donors, says Julie Ordoñez, founder of the fundraising consultancy, the Courage Lab.
“If you’re looking to raise unrestricted revenue, and you need to grow fast in the coming months and years, major gifts are undefeated,” Ordoñez says.
For a simple goal that donors can understand and get behind, focus on a measurable, time-bound idea, such as you want to reach X number of people by a certain year.
Zweigart’s Flatbush Cats found success courting big donors by sharing his overarching vision and goals and building trust through his track record. “Donors need to understand what you’re trying to accomplish and specifically how you plan to do it,” he says.
Having ambitious goals isn’t atypical for nonprofits, says Ordoñez, but sharing those goals in clear, succinct ways is. For a simple goal that donors can understand and get behind, focus on a measurable, time-bound idea, such as you want to reach X number of people by a certain year.
“It’s essentially your strategic plan in one sentence,” Ordoñez says. “When you have that, it becomes obvious that if you want to reach more people, you would need to raise more money to do that.”
Zweigart notes that after early conversations with big donors about Flatbush Cats goals, he’s often able to get their buy-in for funding through a simple email pitch quickly summarizing the big goal — “to dramatically increase access to veterinary care in New York City.” He also shares the cost of the goal and references past discussions before making the ask.
“You have to personalize it, so I would say, ‘When we talked, you told me you were really interested in seeing this model scale across New York City so that other cities might follow suit. And based on your passion for this work, would you consider giving a seven-figure gift over three years?’” Zweigart says. “That’s all they need to decide whether they want to be a part of that work.”
Everyday donors want you to pay staff well.
While big donors can move the needle quickly, everyday donors — from annual giving to monthly giving — matter, too. The good news, says Michelle Murray, CEO of Living Wage for US, is small-dollar donors want you to pay your staff well.
“Americans have been putting living wages as their number one issue over any other sort of sustainability issue for a really long time,” she says. “You can attract more of those individual donors if you’re out there telling folks you’re doing this.”
Make the case for better pay to grant makers.
Institutional funding is a different beast than individual giving, the experts say — grants from governments and foundations tend to come with stricter parameters.
Taylor, the former nonprofit executive turned foundation leader, says government grantors often say, “This is the maximum we’ll pay” for salaries in program costs. She suggests, particularly for state and local government grants, that nonprofits in the area band together and talk about what the reasonable pay is for program staff and all use that in grant submissions.
“Those coalitions supporting one another to advocate for good wages are really critical,” she says. “The more and more organizations that do that, it shifts the conversation with funders.”
This tactic can also be used by nonprofits receiving funding from the same foundation, Taylor says.
If you receive recurring grants from a foundation and plan to seek a higher amount in your next request, talk to the funders ahead of time and explain how important it is to have staff paid at living wages, says Murray.
“If you just show that salaries suddenly went up and you don’t explain that this is a conscious decision from a mission-oriented perspective, sometimes you’re going to get a negative reaction,” she says.
Nonprofits that talk about sustainability for the mission and the organization do well with funders, Murray adds.
Tell them, We’re not willing to lower costs at the cost of impact. It means that we’re paying top talent to address the biggest, toughest issues of our time.
Another point that can help make the imperative clear for funders, says Ordoñez, is letting them know that low pay results in overstressed staff and poorer outcomes.
“Tell them, We’re not willing to lower costs at the cost of impact. It means that we’re paying top talent to address the biggest, toughest issues of our time,” Ordoñez says. “We’re spending more, but it allows us to have a greater impact. That’s the choice that we will make every day of the week.”
Focus your time on donors who fit.
The old axiom that time is money is very true when it comes to fundraising, Zweigart notes. If staff are spending time on things that don’t move the needle, they’re missing opportunities to work on things that do.
Ordoñez sees this often: Nonprofits feel like they make a lot of effort trying to raise money, but without great results. When that happens, she recommends a time audit to ensure you’re focusing on fundraising tasks with good return on investment. If you’re spending months planning events and netting small amounts, time might be better spent talking to major donors or expanding the number of monthly giving donors.
That can mean walking away from potential donors who don’t align with your organization. Zweigart says part of his success comes from using early conversations to disqualify donors who don’t mesh with his strategy of unrestricted funding. If a donor starts talking about overhead and restrictions, he navigates a quick, polite exit, letting them know they’re not a good match.
“You are not going to be the right fit for everyone,” Zweigart says. “And the sooner you recognize that, the sooner you can reclaim your time and go connect with the people that are a good fit.”
Push funders to cut the busywork.
Ordoñez agrees with the general theory that donor relationships are like other relationships in that “not everyone is your person” but notes that most nonprofits aren’t initially in a position to leave money on the table. She recommends talking to funders about your needs.
For example, if a funder has excessive reporting requirements that are devouring staff time, she says, spell out what that staff time costs in dollars. Then ask if there’s a way to reduce some of that time so staff can focus on programmatic areas. She says, in one instance, a funder went from 34 questions to just three as part of a regular evaluation component.
Over all, Zweigart notes, fundraising in ways that will allow you to hire the staff needed to fill your mission requires focus and courage.
“Nonprofits have to get better and bolder at fundraising,” he says. “I’m saying it like it’s simple because it is. That doesn’t mean it’s easy.”
