A new funding opportunity is available from the Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy (VSHSL) to improve the community’s understanding of pay disparities and employee experiences in the nonprofit sector.
King County relies on a strong network of human services providers delivering high quality services to King County residents. The quality of these services and subsequent client outcomes are largely influenced by the relationships and trust clients have with their providers and the deep knowledge about service networks and program delivery models that providers gain when being employed by the same entity or within the same field for a long time. Unfortunately, turnover in nonprofits and the human service sector can be higher than other industries, pay is lower for equivalent work, and research has cited wage issues as a contributing factor.
The 2023 King County Nonprofit Wage & Benefits Report, based on the 2023 Wage and Benefits Survey funded by the VSHSL and administered by 501 Commons, found that voluntary turnover last year in the nonprofit workforce averaged 20%. When combined with involuntary turnover, mid-size organizations with 41 to 100 employees experienced a 27% rate of turnover.
Recent iterations of the VSHSL Nonprofit Workforce Surveys have shown important progress and positive impacts in the nonprofit sector. Overall, employees express that they and their organizations do good work for the community, and they are proud of their work. Most respondents believe their organization provides high quality services that are responsive to the needs of their clients. However, substantial challenges remain in terms of maintaining and strengthening a robust and equitable nonprofit workforce.
Funding overview
This funding opportunity seeks to support nonprofits to better understand the array of influences, including wages, which contribute to employee recruitment, retention and satisfaction and how this impacts service delivery and the ability of an organization to meet their mission.
In collaboration and consultation with King County staff, the funded entity(ies) will develop, administer, and report on a Wage Survey and an Employee Engagement Survey, that will allow King County to better understand the evolving landscape of wages and total compensation and employee experiences across King County-funded agencies. Data and findings from the surveys will help nonprofit entities make decisions about staff compensation, inform King County analysis on appropriate contract amounts with nonprofit partners, and help inform policy and systems change regarding workforce stabilization. The surveys will be made available at no cost or nominal cost to nonprofit entities in King County that receive VSHSL funding to serve as a resource they may use to inform future hiring, compensation, and retention practices. This program will fund the creation and administration of three rounds of the surveys, beginning in 2025 and staggered throughout the award period through 2029.
Application details
Available funding: Up to $425,765 in Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy funds
Investment period: August 1, 2024 – December 31, 2029 (subject to change)
Questions: Contact Emily Mirra at emirra@kingcounty.gov or 206-477-6631
Applications due: May 29, 2024 by 2:00pm Pacific Time
Join the information session to learn more
A virtual information session to discuss questions related to this RFP will be held on May 1, 2024, 10:00 – 11:00am.
Join by Zoom:
https://kingcounty.zoom.us/j/84045758741
Meeting ID: 840 4575 8741
Passcode: 949660
Join by phone:
Phone # 1 253 215 8782
The information session will be recorded and posted at https://www.zoomgrants.com/zgf/VSHSLSurveys.
This will be a remote session with speech to text captioning provided. For accommodations to participate, please contact Emily Mirra by April 26, 2024.
