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Study: More Nonprofits Likely to Offer Raises in 2020

According to a PNP Staffing Group report, around 80 percent of nonprofits expect to offer at least a cost-of-living wage increase, and those increases are likely to benefit support staff as well.

It’s not just the executives getting access to big raises in the new year—the support staff might get a bonus, too.

A new report from PNP Staffing Group [registration], focused on the Washington, DC, area, shows that 4 in 5 nonprofits expect to offer at least cost-of-living raises to their employees this year, while 55 percent expect to offer merit increases to their workers.

And while such salary increases have favored leadership in prior years—and, with 59 percent of nonprofits planning more substantial salary increases for executives, leaders are still at the top of the food chain, admittedly—higher wages are also expected to go to those involved in running the nonprofit program (49 percent), administrative and support staff (43 percent), and the finance team (38 percent).

One driving factor behind the wage increase for non-executive employees, according to the report, is an effort by nonprofits to boost “livable wages.” Other issues being focused on by DC-area nonprofits include increasing equality and representation within management. According to the report, more than 50 percent of nonprofit managers are women, but they are less likely to take senior-level roles. Additionally, less than 20 percent of top executives are people of color.

“These issues are being aggressively tackled by DC area organizations themselves with help from foundations, boards, and support groups,” the report states. “We expect that 2020 will be a year of continued constructive change, development, and transformation for the nonprofit sector.”

Other points of note:

The desire for talent is leading to changes in salary and benefits. The report notes that 70 percent of nonprofits have increased their remote work offerings in an effort to help draw talent to the organization. Additionally, nonprofits continue to push for professional development, which is cited as one of their biggest priorities in the new year.

Revenue is a point of concern—and that’s driving new hiring. The report noted that lower fundraising revenues from 2019 are likely to lead to a focus on the issue in 2020—more than three quarters of respondents said that a key goal of theirs was to develop new funding sources and streams in 2020. And this result has a direct effect on who organizations are hiring. This year, 24 percent of respondents said they expected to increase the number of fundraising staff.

Succession planning is an issue. The report notes that many organizations are facing a push toward bringing younger generations into leadership, and it often takes time to do correctly. “Strategies for new leadership will be more critical than ever as marketplace changes will heighten the need for new approaches to fundraising; the need for IT development in organizations will be crucial to growth and capacity building; and the need for ways to recruit and retain talent will become more pressing,” the report states.

(marchmeena29/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Ernie Smith

By Ernie Smith

Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. MORE

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