NONPROFITS

why nonpro t executives aren’t compensated as well as their for-pro t business counterparts, Lhevine said. e overall trend toward paying men more in executive slots is also mirrored in the nonpro t world, he said.

For every dollar that a male executive director makes, a female executive director makes 82 cents, according to the Colorado Nonpro t Association’s 2021 salary survey. On average, female executives collect a yearly $111,152 salary while male executives pull in $132,227, according to the survey.

Scott makes about $100,000, only a fraction of what someone is paid for comparable work in a corporation, she said.

Lhevine said compensation for nonpro t leaders was a trend set decades ago.

“Most nonpro ts were created at a place and time on the backs of volunteers and driven by women,” Lhevine said. “ is is a major issue and we have to do a better job of nding a way to pay professionals a fair wage.” e estimated total pay for an executive director for a business in Denver is $240,568, according to the employment website Glassdoor. e median pay for a CEO in Denver is $404,153. e association’s survey states that many nonpro ts o er employees bonuses and ex time schedules and are generous with time o to compensate for long work hours. Some provided bonuses to employees to acknowledge their work during COVID-19, the survey reported. Most were 3% or less of the employee’s salary.

Nonpro ts greatly bene t from a workforce that will not back down from a challenge, including entering the post-COVID era, Lhevine said.

“Nonpro ts are mission-driven,” he said. “ e people who work there are not going to back down, even now. Nonpro ts are lled with people who have a passion for their work and they have a need to address the needs of their community.” e Colorado Family Resource Center Association — which includes nonpro ts like FISH — only lost about 20% of its member executive directors, said Scott, who has been with FISH for nearly eight years and is not surprised at the lack of turnover among nonpro t leaders. is is low turnover considering the responsibilities of running a nonpro t during a major pandemic, she said.

But Scott is not surprised that so many local directors stuck around.

“We love the mission, and now it’s a new one,” she said. “We will have to scramble to get donations and other help for our organizations now that these other programs are waning.”

Alice Sueltenfuss said her job as executive director of Hope for Longmont, which provides shelter and other aid for people who are homeless, is devoted to the constant chase for funding.

“In the nonpro t world, it’s all about grants, corporate sponsors and the amounts given by donors,” Sueltenfuss said via email. “Fund- raising helps, of course, but recurring donors help nonpro ts the most.”

Terrapin, a marijuana dispensary in Longmont, is one of Hope’s most reliable donors, giving $10,000 a year to the nonpro t. Terrapin spokesman Peter Marcus said via email that Hope is one of several nonprofits that fall into the company’s various corporate responsibility goals.

“Homelessness is one factor that can result from a cycle created through disproportionate cannabis prohibition and incarceration,” Marcus said. “Hope ts nicely with our mission to end the war on drugs and make whole those who were harmed.”

Sueltenfuss retired after 32 years of being a school administrator and was drawn into the nonpro t world knowing she would not come close to making as much as before.

“Working to help homeless individuals become self-su cient has given me rewards that are not easily compared,” she said. “Yes, I don’t make the yearly income I did even 10 years ago, but I chose this profession with a nonpro t for reasons other than nancial. You don’t become an administrator of a nonpro t for the money; it’s the cause.” e same notion motivated Mike Lutz, who left his job as a civil engineer with the city of Louisville in 2008 to work at Broom eld FISH.

Lutz said he wanted to make some changes in his life and made the leap into the nonpro t world after seeing some men unloading a truck at the FISH headquarters.

“I asked them if they needed some help and I jumped right in,” Lutz said. “It just seemed the ideal place and time for me.”

He started as a volunteer and eventually became the organization’s food operations manager. Lutz hustles around FISH’s marketplace to make sure shelves are stocked with food donated by community and corporate groups.

Lutz also coordinates daily with grocery stores in Broom eld and Westminster to collect donations, including fresh fruits and vegetables. e job is especially important to him since he grew up in Broom eld and sees how FISH helps his longtime friends and neighbors.

“I don’t know of another job where I can wake up and can’t wait to get to work,” Lutz said. “I know the money is not great. But here I feel like I am making a di erence.”

A school project by Sharin Oliver’s son led her to volunteer for FISH in 2009. She liked the neighborly atmosphere at FISH and stayed on to become operations manager.

Oliver had been a management consultant out of college and then a stay-at-home mom. FISH became her calling.

“FISH makes Broom eld a smaller place, and I like that,” Oliver said. “My son once told me ‘Mom, you want to feed the world.’”

“Yeah,” she said, “I guess I do.” is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun. com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media.

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