How Nonprofit Leaders Negotiate Their Salary

Sean Kosofsky • December 8, 2025

A post by The Nonprofit Fixer - a vetted, national partner of Give Back Nation.

You CAN Negotiate Salary at a Nonprofit. Here’s How.

For many professionals in the mission-led nonprofit space, bringing up a conversation about higher pay can feel uncomfortable — even self-serving, or misaligned with the cause. Yet the truth is: nonprofit staff at all levels deserve not only fair compensation, but generous compensation. You should be able to support your household, pay for housing, cover groceries, and yes — even take a vacation now and then.

So let’s explore how you can negotiate salary in the nonprofit world.

1. Getting Ready: What to do before you ask

There are three common scenarios in which negotiation comes into play for nonprofit leaders:

You’re offered a new role with a nonprofit and you haven’t accepted yet.
You’re currently at a nonprofit, and you’re being promoted or offered a raise.
You believe the time has come in your current role to ask for more — even without a formal offer or promotion.

In every situation, the most important element is: knowing your worth. That means preparing your mindset, doing your research, and making sure your résumé and LinkedIn profile show your value. I help executive directors calculate their salary and compensation so they can better negotiate for what’s fair.

Mindset matters

Start by recognising your value: your career journey, the education you’ve pursued, the skills you’ve built, and what you’ve already achieved. If you undersell yourself, your employer will too.
It’s also useful to shake off the idea that asking for higher pay is somehow “against the mission.” You are the mission. A well-paid team often produces stronger results, lower turnover, and healthier organisational culture.

Research your market

To anchor your ask, you’ll need data. Think in terms of: geography (what’s typical pay in this region?), organization size/sector, job level (entry, mid, senior).

If published salary reports are unavailable in your space, you might survey peers or check organizations in your network for comparable roles and budgets. Once you find the data, set a realistic but aspirational salary range for yourself.

Sharpen your résumé and LinkedIn profile

Your résumé is your story. Resist the trap of listing only responsibilities. Instead, highlight what you solved, what changed, what you achieved.

Your LinkedIn profile is similarly important: it’s a free, searchable asset. Make sure it’s up to date, polished, and aligned with how you want your professional narrative told. Nonprofit leaders get to shine and brag more than others. Don’t hold back. You are doing purpose-driven work so don’t hold back.

2. Negotiation tactics that work

With your mindset primed, market research in hand, and brand polished, you’re ready to negotiate. Here are five tactics tailored for the nonprofit setting:

Tip 1: Be confident

Approach the conversation with clarity and purpose. You may not always get exactly what you ask for, but you give yourself zero chance if you don’t ask. Good preparation is the foundation of confidence.

Tip 2: Prepare your pitch

Don’t wing it. Draft a short, compelling argument:

“I’ve taken on these responsibilities, delivered on these results, and reviewed market data that suggests a salary in this range would be aligned with peers. I believe a raise of X % is appropriate, given my contributions and the region/sector context.”

Overwhelmingly you want your skills and accomplishments to link back to sustainability and financial security, or mission-attainment.

Tip 3: Anticipate responses

Think through possible reactions ahead of time:

A yes (possibly even higher than you asked)
A no (with or without explanation)
A “let’s revisit in three or six months”
Having clear responses ready helps you stay composed rather than reactive.
Tip 4: Use anchoring

If the employer suggests “we were thinking about 4–5 %,” you can reply: “5 % is a good start — but given my scope and results I was hoping for something closer to X %.” By anchoring above the baseline, you shape the negotiation around your target.

Tip 5: Remember — it’s not just salary

Especially in nonprofits, there are broader negotiables: flexible work arrangements, extra vacation days, tuition reimbursement, professional development, cell-phone/tech allowances, or maybe a title change. Don’t focus only on the salary number; expand the conversation to total compensation.

3. What doesn’t work (and what to avoid)

Just as important as knowing what does work is knowing what commonly fails:

Waiting and hoping — don’t expect a raise without asking; luck isn’t a strategy.
Threats & ultimatums — saying “If you don’t give me this, I’ll leave” rarely ends well and often triggers replacement searches.
Using another offer recklessly — leveraging a competing job offer can backfire, especially at smaller nonprofits. Use that tactic only if you’re fully ready for the consequences.

4. Sample script to adapt

Here’s a structure you can customise for your own discussion:

“It has been one of the highlights of my career to serve in this role, and I am fully committed to helping our organisation thrive in the years ahead. Over the past [X] months/years, we’ve achieved [list 2–3 key results]. My role has included [describe your key activities and responsibilities], and the scope has continued to grow. Given market data for similar roles in [region/sector] and my contributions here, I believe an adjustment in my compensation is justified. I’d like to discuss increasing my salary to [target amount or range], to reflect both my value to this organisation and what the marketplace supports.”

5. After the conversation — next steps

Whether you’re starting with a new employer or sitting in your current organisation, the salary negotiation conversation often brings nerves — but remember: you’re advocating for your value. Your value in a nonprofit is about problems you solve, money you raise, or results you get for your mission.

When done well, you not only raise your own compensation and set a higher baseline for your future earnings — you also help drive the sector toward fairer pay overall.

If the result isn’t exactly what you hoped for, don’t give up. Ask for a plan: “If I meet these benchmarks, can we revisit this in six months?” Many nonprofits delay raises due to budget timing, so showing how you’ll raise or save money can pave the way.

Ultimately, having the conversation itself builds your confidence, your track record, and your professional brand.

Final Note:

Your ability to negotiate fair pay isn’t just about you—it’s about helping your organisation retain talent, maintain morale, and pursue its mission without burnout or turnover. Too often nonprofits think they should be paid less to put the mission first, but you are the mission. The money you raise is to achieve the mission. That’s you!

Sean Kosofsky is the Nonprofit Fixer. He’s an executive coach, consultant and trainer who has worked in the nonprofits industry for over 34 years and served as an executive director 5 times around the US. www.NonprofitFixer.com

Guest Blog By

Sean Kosofsky - "The Nonprofit Fixer"

a vetted national partner of Give Back Nation

For more than 34 years, Sean has helped lead and transform various nonprofit organizations and political campaigns. With a diligent commitment to excellence in fundraising, management, and board development, he pushes organizations to be higher-functioning engines of impact.