Dispatch: When Nonprofits Undervalue Labor

There’s a hard truth in the nonprofit sector: "social justice" organizations that refuse to pay livable wages, or that lean on unpaid labor to survive, start to feel more like parasites than community builders.

They draw energy, time, and expertise from staff and volunteers without giving back enough for those same people to sustain themselves. The contradiction is glaring; nonprofits cannot claim to create sustainability in communities while burning out their own people.

This doesn’t always come from malice. Often, it stems from founders who never received guidance on proper structures, Boards who don’t understand their fiduciary responsibility, or a sector that has been underfunded for decades. But intention doesn’t change impact. When nonprofits normalize underpayment or free labor, they replicate the same extractive patterns they are meant to challenge.

Funders increasingly recognize this contradiction. They know sustainability starts inside the organization itself. An underpaid, overworked staff signals risk, instability, and poor long-term planning. By contrast, nonprofits that budget realistically for compensation, invest in their teams, and model healthy internal practices gain credibility and trust. They become the organizations funders want to support, not just for their missions, but for the integrity of how they operate.

If the nonprofit sector is serious about redefining success, it must begin here: by honoring the labor that makes every Mission possible.