Nonprofits Work to Come to Terms with Minimum and Living Wage Standards

By Martin Levine

Nonprofit Quarterly (NPQ)

As the momentum behind the effort to transform the minimum wage into a “living” wage grows, nonprofit organizations are struggling with the impact of increased labor costs. In city halls, state houses, and the United States Congress, there is increasing consensus that the minimum wage should be raised; the debate has shifted to how large the increase should be and how long should the phase-in period must be before that new level is reached.

with themselves about the merits of an increase. As advocates for low-income households, they support increasing the minimum wage to a level where it will meet basic human needs. As employers of many minimum-wage workers that have limited ability to pass on increased costs to their customers, nonprofits worry about the economic toll that increasing salaries will have on their fiscal health.

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