Hey everyone,
This is my first time posting here. So I've worked at a non-profit for the last five years. We are an animal shelter, but we're pretty well off compared to similar organizations. We have a staff of 100+ and an annual revenue of 7 mil.
Starting pay is $10 for entry-level workers. When I started, starting pay was $8, and through 5 years I've worked my way up to my whopping hourly rate of $12/hour. I am not a manager, I'm a "lead" in my department, but I've been a full-time employee for the past 4 1/2 years and I have certainly taken a managerial role over the past two years.
I manage the center myself two days out of the week, I close the building down every night I work, I mentor staff - they actually typically come to me prior to going to their actual manager with customer service issues. Also, customer service issues at an animal shelter are intense - like dealing with abusers, breeders, etc. There are other skills I have that no one else in my department's staff have that are particular to an animal shelter like being the only one that can handle our most aggressive animals and also being the only one that can perform veterinary tasks like vaccines, microchips, basic examinations, etc.
Anyways, I recently told our CEO (whom I have a good relationship with) that I was looking at applying to a different organization and asked if I could use her as a reference (she is well known), she said yes but she would be upset if I left. I didn't even do this as any sort of leverage, I genuinely wanted her as a reference. Minutes after leaving her office, I was called in by my manager and he told me that they wanted to offer me the formal title of "Assistant Adoptions Manager" and a salary of $30,000. This is a very significant pay increase for me from $12/hr, but the more research I do, the more value I see in myself and the more I think I'm indispensable to the organization. I take a lot off of my manager's plate when we work together, and during the meeting he told me about how I would have more responsibilities if I accept this position. The funny thing is, it won't change his job at all. It would only make his job easier than it already is and give me even more work.
I have not accepted this position yet, and I received an email over the weekend from the CEO saying she hoped I'd accept the position and that she wants me to stay with the organization for a very long time and she sees plenty of opportunity for me to move up in the future.
Given the nature of my job, a lot of the money goes back to the animals. Because of that, I don't want to be selfish. I also am already receiving a huge increase in pay if I accept $30,000/year. I was looking to counter by telling him that $33,000/year would make me ecstatic and I would accept the job right away along with laying out all the reasons I feel that I'm worth that figure. I also plan on being with this organization for a while, and I feel 33 would be a better point to start salaried than 30 for me at this point in my life. Do you think I'm risking too much by asking for a higher number when I'd already be receiving a significant raise?
Also, I know this is probably chump change for most people but my heart is in animal welfare and this is what we get paid.
Submitted July 15, 2017 at 12:24PM by shelterworker http://ift.tt/2tX1i3p
