Goodman Announces Living Wage for All Adult Staff

Dear friends and neighbors,

This morning, I get to do something really exciting. I get to announce that as of June 25, the Goodman Community Center is paying all adult staff at least $20 per hour.

Let me say that again, because I’m so excited about it: Every adult working at the Goodman Center is now making at least $20 per hour!

I’m proud that we’re taking this step to better care for the people who give so much of themselves to care for our community. Goodman staff are some of the most generous and compassionate people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing, and this wage adjustment is one way to show our appreciation for all they do to help our community.

This day has been more than two years in the making. Back in 2021 – my first year with Goodman – I attended a Rotary Club meeting where Jack Salzwedel, former American Family Insurance CEO and generous friend of Goodman, was presenting. He talked about how AmFam increased the base pay at their organization, and I couldn’t contain myself. “I want to do that,” I shouted from my table, and the idea was born.

We believe that not only is this Living Wage Initiative the right thing to do, it will also help us hire and retain staff to do the critical work of strengthening lives and securing futures.

Our finance team has done the work to figure out exactly what we need to sustain the wage adjustment over the next five years: $2.75 million. Thanks to three generous funders – PRL Keystone Foundation, Leola Culver Family Foundation and the David & Nancy Walsh Family Foundation – we've already secured more than $2 million of that goal.

We’ll need our community to get the rest of the way and to sustain this plan into the future, and I have no doubt we’ll be able to pull it off – with your help. We’re lucky to be a part of Madison, where folks not only believe in supporting the critical work being done at nonprofits like Goodman, but also believe in valuing the human beings doing that work.

If you count yourself among the people who hold that belief, please consider making a gift to Goodman today. We’re stronger together than we are apart, and our community is truly at its best when everyone has the resources they need to be successful.

Thank you for your support,

Letesha Nelson, CEO / Executive Director

P.S. If you're interested in getting more details, feel free to reach out to me or read our full media release here.