The 2025 King County Nonprofit Employee Engagement survey is now underway, and we are calling on nonprofits in the region to encourage their employees to take 15-20 minutes and participate in the survey. Nonprofit employees are invited to share their candid thoughts on job satisfaction, workplace environment, supervisory relationships, pay/benefits, and other factors that encourage them to remain in their jobs and the nonprofit sector. The survey builds on the King County Nonprofit Wage & Benefits Survey and seeks to provide nonprofits with data that can help promote a more equitable, stable, and robust human services workforce in King County.

Complete the King County Nonprofit Employee Engagement Survey 

The Employee Engagement survey is open to all part-time and full-time nonprofit employees who work at organizations based in or serving King County. All survey participants will remain anonymous. Nonprofits with more than five respondents can receive a free aggregated report that provides actionable information specific to their organization, while maintaining survey respondents’ anonymity. 

The Employee Engagement survey, which is the second part of the King County Nonprofit Employment Survey, is open from February 24 through May 25, 2025. Part one, the Nonprofit Wage & Benefits Survey, will remain open through April 18, 2025 so that feedback can be collected on both efforts. 

King County Department of Community and Human Services is committed to supporting a robust and representative human services workforce that has the knowledge, experience, and skill to effectively serve our community.

The 2023 King County Nonprofit Employment Surveys showed how underinvestment in the nonprofit workforce impacts programs, services, and the overall sector. Following the 2023 surveys, DCHS took action to address funding practices through contracts, the DCHS Inflation Rate Adjustment Policy for Human Services Contracts, tailored workforce investments through the Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy and Crisis Care Centers Levy, and Best Starts for Kids investments in the child care workforce.

The compensation data and employee satisfaction data that the King County Nonprofit Employment Surveys produce contribute to a growing body of data around human services compensation practices and continues to improve the community’s understanding of pay disparities and employee experiences in the nonprofit sector.

The surveys are funded through the King County Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy (VSHSL) and administered by our partners 501 Commons and Nonprofit Compensation Associates (NCA). The Putting People First initiative first launched in 2021, comprised of two surveys: A Wage & Benefits Survey and an Employee Engagement Survey. Each iteration of the surveys has created a report on employee satisfaction, an online salary database, and a report on employment practices, benefits, salaries below the living wage, and more. This is the third time the King County Nonprofit Employment Surveys are launching in King County.

The survey’s impact depends on broad participation. In 2023, 1,233 employees from 263 organizations participated in the 2023 King County Nonprofit Employee Engagement Survey. We are seeking to increase participation numbers this year and moving forward. It is important that organizations of all sizes and types participate in the survey for the resulting information to be as impactful and valuable as possible.

Learn more about the King County Nonprofit Employment Surveys