Pay Justice
MACC is fighting for funding that covers the full cost of effective human services, is transparent and accountable without redundant and out of touch restrictions, and supports wages that reflect the value of the people doing the work. We’re using our network’s collective influence to build an honest, shared understanding with funders of the resources it takes to drive the outcomes we all want.
What is Pay Justice?
Pay Justice is MACC’s commitment to ensuring that Minnesota’s human services workforce — the people who show up every day to strengthen families, stabilize communities, and deliver critical care — have the resources they need to do their jobs effectively and are compensated at a level that truly values their work, their skills, and their humanity, and our organizations are funded enough to operate effectively. The status quo has trapped nonprofits in underfunded, overly complex grants and contracts they can’t negotiate or afford to say no to. Pay Justice is our framework for talking honestly about how funder underinvestment in our workforce and unfunded, out of touch administrative demands is burning out our staff, destabilizing our organizations, and limiting our impact.
Want to stay connected and learn about future opportunities to engage with MACC’s Pay Justice work? Click here to make sure you get the latest updates on Pay Justice from our Network!
Take Action Now!
Ready to join the growing movement toward Pay Justice? MACC’s Government Relations Council meets monthly and is designed for leaders navigating the increasingly complex intersection of federal policy shifts, state funding changes, government scrutiny & compliance pressures, and on-the-ground community impacts. Navigating what’s ahead will require us to lean into our relationships, share information, and use a variety of types of influence to protect our communities and the work our organizations. This is a forum for leaders designed to strengthen both your policy understanding and your peer relationships. Join our collaborative member community working together to fight for funding that works for our network and our communities.
A Vision for Pay Justice
Our 2025 Pay Justice Report lays out the challenges, opportunities, and concrete actions organizations and funders can take to fight for a sector that is equitably, transparently, and effectively funded. Co-authored by MACC and our members read more to see how we can change the ways our workforce and work is resourced.
I am very happy that MACC is saying the quiet thing out loud. The attitude that people who choose to work at a non-profit should accept lower pay has contributed to higher turnover, lower job satisfaction and has made it harder for us to build sustainable organizations. We are so grateful to partner with MACC because they are challenging that narrative. Mission and fair compensation should not be considered competing priorities, instead they’re essential to one another.
Related Resources
Minnesota Grant Contract Reform Coalition
Minnesota Council of Nonprofits’ hub on the Minnesota Grant Contract Reform Coalition, which it co-leads with MACC and other partners to push for less burdensome, more consistent state grantmaking and contracting policies across Minnesota’s decentralized agency system.
2026 MACC Advocacy Debrief
A debrief summarizing the outcomes and takeaways from MACC’s 2026 state advocacy work. We advocate for the conditions human services organizations need to thrive — fair pay for workers, data that serves communities rather than burdens them, and a public narrative that reflects the real value of this work. Dig into our advocacy priorities, definitions, platform, and outcomes.
2025 MACC Network Advocacy Messages
We bring together the voices, wisdom, and influence of our collective to co-create a better narrative for our sector that support’s our network’s shared vision for equitable, thriving, abundant communities. We asked our network leaders to share their perspectives to directly shape our advocacy messaging for the coming year.
Related Events
Government Relations Council
This group is designed for leaders navigating the increasingly complex intersection of federal policy shifts, state funding changes, government scrutiny & compliance pressures, and on-the-ground community impacts. Navigating what’s ahead
Read more