A note regarding this:
In Swapcard, the app used for EAG(x) events, it is possible to schedule meeting times with more than one person (up to eight, using the same method as scheduling a 1-on-1). I would really like to see this feature used more regularly, but I suspect few know it exists.
Thanks for the post. I think the golden handcuffs concern is worth flagging, but itâs likely outweighed by the bigger problem: talented people who never enter the social sector because they canât afford the pay cut.
Thereâs also a structural issue here. Nonprofits can underpay because theyâre extracting a âmission commitment subsidyâ from employees. And this gets reinforced by funders/âdonors who often treat salaries as wasteful overhead rather than core inputs to doing good work. That creates perverse incentives where orgs compete to look âefficientâ by under-investing in people.
Somewhat obvious note: These organizations can pay more because theyâre exceptionally well-funded. The real issue isnât that some orgs pay well, itâs the unevenness. If compensation were uniformly reasonable across the sector, people could move based on impact and fit rather than financial need.
That all said, publishing compensation philosophies would be broadly beneficial (and more fully in line with transparency).
(FWIW, these points are also broadly true in the public sector.)