The Great Resignation. We’ve all heard the phrase recited over the past year, the byproduct of the stark reality facing employers across the state and nation. With more than 30,000 nonprofit jobs having been temporarily or permanently lost in Minnesota since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, nonprofits everywhere continue to find themselves in one of the most difficult staffing environments in decades.
According to MCN’s most recent Minnesota Nonprofit Economy Report – COVID-19 Impact Update, workforce shortages and staff turnover were the second and fourth most reported challenges for Minnesota nonprofits, with nearly half of respondents indicating they had experienced these challenges at some point in 2021.
As nonprofits do their best to adjust their hiring and staffing practices, one factor that remains front-and-center in most staff recruitment and retention conversations is compensation. Even in the best of times, the compensation issue has always posed unique challenges for charitable organizations often unable to compete with the resources, stability, and flexibility of other sectors competing for talent.
While it may seem like an uphill climb in many respects, one way in which nonprofits can support and compensate employees more fairly, equitably, and on par with other sectors it to first have access to current, reliable compensation and benefits data. It’s for this reason that MCN began producing one of the state’s most robust nonprofit compensation surveys over two decades ago.
The Minnesota Nonprofit Salary & Benefits Survey, published every two years since 1999, details compensation data for dozens of jobs in nonprofit organizations, presenting the results by six budget categories, seven geographic regions, and 12 activity areas so that nonprofits can compare compensation levels to similar organizations.
MCN has launched the participant recruitment period for its 2022 survey and is once again asking nonprofits across Minnesota to share salary and benefits information that will help shape valuable benchmarks for organizations wrestling with the compensation question. Through the participation of hundreds of nonprofits (more than 450 in 2020), the 2022 report will provide:
Participating organization will be asked to complete the survey in July and August, with the finished report being released in October 2022. Additionally, participants will receive 50-75 percent off their copy of the finished report.
- salary and wage data for over 70 nonprofit jobs, including enhanced information for executive leadership
- information on medical, dental, disability and life insurance, retirement, and paid time off
- compensation practices including raises, bonuses, and other incentives
To participate in the 2022 survey, please visit www.minnesotanonprofits.org/SS and indicate your nonprofit’s interest by Friday, May 27.