Is it normal for a nonprofit to ask employees for donations?
Employers asking staff to donate money feels offensive and tone-deaf because employees already sacrifice higher for-profit salaries and go above and beyond with their time. Pressuring workers who cannot afford basic necessities like groceries creates deep discomfort and resentment.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1complaining about the practice to colleagues
- 2pushing to move the employee donation down to a symbolic amount like $1
- 3having leadership donate on behalf of staff
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Am I crazy to be offended by this? Like in any nonprofit, the staff is already generous with our time and everyone seems to go above and beyond for the org. It just feels so tacky to even ask staff to give back to their employer.”source ↗
“I would like to shoot this practice into the sun. No you cannot have my money when I can’t afford groceries”source ↗
“I also find this distasteful. I am already donating in-kind, essentially, the gap between what I make at a nonprofit and what I'd be making at a for-profit!”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2How to ask for money instead of gifts without looking rude
- 3How to handle inappropriate donation requests from individuals
- 4How do you start a peer-to-peer fundraiser with zero donor history?
- 2Can employees bring their new puppies to work?
- 3Can a first year teacher ask for time off?
- 2How to ask parents for money when they already support me