June 2024

Pacific Northwest Nonprofit Compensation & Benefits Study

Lantz McGinnis Brown, McAllister Hall

The Pacific Northwest Nonprofit Compensation & Benefits Study, sponsored by the Idaho Nonprofit Center and Nonprofit Associations of Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Alaska, received complete survey responses from 1,342 nonprofit organizations across the northwest. Washington received 525 complete responses, Montana received 291, Oregon received 248, Idaho received 148, and Alaska received 130.

Human Services was the most common focus among respondent organizations, followed by Arts, Culture, & Humanities, Education, and Housing & Shelter. Almost half of responding organizations had annual budgets over one million dollars, while the rest had annual budgets under one million. A small portion of responding organizations were volunteer run, and thus were not asked about personnel compensation & benefits.

Approximately one-quarter of organizations reported having positions open that they have been unable to hire for. These organizations most commonly reported having trouble hiring mid-level employees, with entry-level employees following closely behind.

Some organizations modified benefits packages in response to hiring and retention challenges. The most common reported change was more flexible work schedules, followed by medical, dental, retirement, vision, and life/disability, respectively. Many of these same organizations also reported adding or enhancing professional development opportunities, vacation/leave benefits, and employee bonuses. Of the organizations reporting hiring challenges, 86% have increased their compensation rates.

More than half of respondents offer medical benefits to their employees and nearly two-thirds of organizations offer a retirement plan. Those that offer a retirement plan were most likely to offer a SIMPLE IRA plan, followed by a 401k, then a 403b, respectively.

Treefort Music Fest Impact Analysis

Matt Wordell

In partnership with Treefort Music Fest, PhD student Matt Wordell supported the development and implementation of a 2024 Treefort Impact Analysis Survey to better understand festival goers economic and community impact. The results of this survey were used to inform the final Impact Analysis Report produced by Treefort Music Fest detailing the broad impact of their festival both locally (businesses, communities, etc) and internationally (artists, musicians, film makers, etc). This project was a pilot effort of IPI to begin engaging more proactively with organizations working within Idaho’s Creative Economy.

Idaho Policy Institute discusses data with Census Bureau director

Members of the Idaho Policy Institute recently met with United States Census Bureau Director Robert Santos to discuss how the institute uses census data to support research and decision-making.

The meeting discussed ways that the Census Bureau and the Idaho Policy Institute could support each other in the future, such as utilizing the bureau’s Tribal Relations Specialist to help build stronger relationships between Boise State and tribal communities, while the bureau is looking for ways to provide data to local communities beyond their survey each decade. The Census Bureau is also interested in learning more about partners like the Idaho Policy Institute to find out what data or tools would be most beneficial to them.

The institute uses census data in several ways, including as a resource in classrooms. The census provides a tool called the Application Programming Interface, which allows users to find specific information from the most recent census datasets for their own purposes. For example, the institute used the interface to demonstrate to Idaho’s governor that the affordable housing crisis is not an urban issue or a resort town issue, but rather an Idaho-specific issue. This information then led to the governor allocating $50 million towards workforce housing support.

IPI Director Presents at Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Conference

Idaho Policy Institute Director, Vanessa Fry, participated as a panelist at the 2024 Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Conference in Bend, Oregon. Her panel, Housing Affordability, the Environment, and the Economy covered issues and solutions in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.