I think there are different parts to this though. Paying large salaries to personnel that do fund raising can be frustrating as a donor because to an extent this is a zero sum game: funds for one NGO mean less funds for another, in many cases. So it doesn’t feel like you’re paying for social good. Another is that while, sure, it makes sense to pay good people well, another part of the discussion is that others among the employees are underpaid. Not-for-profits are to an extent expected to stay outside of harmful side effects of capitalism/economics (I’d say it’s even in the name) and cutting costs on part of your labor seems somewhat in conflict with that.
Of course all of this is the result of pragmatism and a focus on whatever it is that’s being optimized for (some aggregate impact measure which is unlikely to include employee welfare to a large extent).
Of course all of this is the result of pragmatism and a focus on whatever it is that’s being optimized for (some aggregate impact measure which is unlikely to include employee welfare to a large extent).