I think things would be a lot better in the non-profit world if they actually did compete for talent with profit-earning companies. But the truth is, they don'

I think things would be a lot better in the non-profit world if they actually did compete for talent with profit-earning companies. But the truth is, they don't. With a few rare exceptions (like Harvard's foundation, which has come under a lot of scrutiny over just how successful it's been), NGOs by and large end up with the leftovers. The folks who weren't really able to get jobs anywhere else. For employees of NGOs, they end up with bottom-barrel, barely subsisting wages. For administration, they're ususally cronies of someone in charge of appointments. A handout to some other, successful executive's spouse, or sibling, or college buddy. CEOs and directors talking about "competitive salaries" are just part of the ever growing problem of NGOs being siphons of money from donors to these "elite adjacent" individuals.