$87,000 in wages (Jenn at 35 hours a week and a policy analyst at 10 hours a week)
This implies an average fully-burdened labor cost, seemingly including benefits and payroll/self-employment taxes, of $37/hr. This is well below market for serious DC policy work. Depending on how you account for benefits, this would be comparable to General Schedule Grade 7 in the US Federal Civil Service, i.e. entry level for junior policy analysts.[1]
It is reasonable for non-profits to pay less than industry given funding constraints, culture, compensating differential, etc. It is unreasonable for non-profits to pay senior staff as if they were entry-level trainees in government. I didn’t see more appropriate pay for policy staff on your “What Additional Funding Enables” list. This should be your top priority if your fundraiser is successful.
Base pay for GS-7 starts at $27.66 per hour. Assuming a 35% benefit and payroll/self-employment tax rate (which is conservative), that comes out to slightly more than Balsa’s average hourly rate. However that is only for the first year. Within a few years, GS-7s should either advance in step to >$30/hr + benefits, or be promoted to higher grades. See 2026 hourly pay tables for the DC region at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/26Tables/html/DCB_h.aspx
When I started in the Federal Civil Service in 2012, before finishing my Master’s program, I took a pay cut from my non-profit university salary to start at GS-7, on the understanding that I’d be quickly promoted to a full performance level of GS-12 within a few years. My job title at GS-7 was, literally, “Budget Trainee”.
Huh, thanks for flagging this. I’m paid a lot more than $37 an hour, so this got me to look into my invoices this year. It turns out that I took a lot of time off this year, such that my weekly hours are significantly lower than 35. Working to revise.
This implies an average fully-burdened labor cost, seemingly including benefits and payroll/self-employment taxes, of $37/hr. This is well below market for serious DC policy work. Depending on how you account for benefits, this would be comparable to General Schedule Grade 7 in the US Federal Civil Service, i.e. entry level for junior policy analysts.[1]
It is reasonable for non-profits to pay less than industry given funding constraints, culture, compensating differential, etc. It is unreasonable for non-profits to pay senior staff as if they were entry-level trainees in government. I didn’t see more appropriate pay for policy staff on your “What Additional Funding Enables” list. This should be your top priority if your fundraiser is successful.
Base pay for GS-7 starts at $27.66 per hour. Assuming a 35% benefit and payroll/self-employment tax rate (which is conservative), that comes out to slightly more than Balsa’s average hourly rate. However that is only for the first year. Within a few years, GS-7s should either advance in step to >$30/hr + benefits, or be promoted to higher grades. See 2026 hourly pay tables for the DC region at:
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/26Tables/html/DCB_h.aspx
When I started in the Federal Civil Service in 2012, before finishing my Master’s program, I took a pay cut from my non-profit university salary to start at GS-7, on the understanding that I’d be quickly promoted to a full performance level of GS-12 within a few years. My job title at GS-7 was, literally, “Budget Trainee”.
Huh, thanks for flagging this. I’m paid a lot more than $37 an hour, so this got me to look into my invoices this year. It turns out that I took a lot of time off this year, such that my weekly hours are significantly lower than 35. Working to revise.