Can Nonprofits Afford to Pay a Living Wage?

Some Minnesota nonprofits are starting to boost their wages as a moral and economic good.

Nonprofit landlord and developer Aeon raised the minimum pay for its workers to $15 this year, $5.50 more than the state’s minimum—ensuring a raise for 34 of its 119 employees. People Serving People, which helps homeless families, has set a minimum wage of $14.50.

The increases come as cities across the country, including Minneapolis, grapple with ordinances that would raise minimum wages. And as the metro area wrestles with disparities between workers of color and whites, raising pay is a way to lift everyone up, said Craig Warren, chief operating officer of the Greater Twin Cities United Way.