Our Greatest Assetts Are Our Employees
Our Greatest Assets Are Our Employees
The Animal Legal Defense Fund provides its staff with competitive salaries — benchmarked by an outside consultancy to ensure no overt or inadvertent bias — and a generous benefits package, which includes covering health care premiums on the organization’s plans, higher than average Paid Time Off (PTO), and access to a 401K account after one full year on staff — with 5% matching by the company and staff are fully vesting upon eligibility.
Salary Structure
To ensure that all employees are compensated equitably (internally and externally), the Animal Legal Defense Fund contracts a third-party for compensation management with an expertise in nonprofit legal organizations. The firm uses external data and analysis from similar positions at comparable organizations. The Animal Legal Defense Fund commissions an annual review of external salary data to ensure compensation keeps up with the job market and to make any adjustments based on geographic cost of labor variants.
Employees who opt for a personal accommodation to work remotely (outside of Cotati, CA) have their salary adjusted to reflect geographic cost of labor — with a maximum salary set at a Cotati-based evaluation.
Average Staff Salary
From 2019 tax returns

$78,298
$46,968

$70,232

$54,441

$58,177

$41,125
Team Member Compensation
for 59 Non-leadership Team Staff in 2021
Average Base Salary
$73,000
Not including benefits
Minimum Base Salary
$52,500
Not including benefits
Benefits
All full-time staff have access to the same benefits. There are no special benefits offered to managers or leadership.
Average Benefits
37%
as a percentage of salary + benefits
Average value of benefits:
$27,000
Career Path
Promotions
As the Animal Legal Defense Fund continues to grow, staff will have opportunities for advancement.
Number of internal promotions of current staff:
50+
Number of promotions in last 5 years:
38
Staff who have been with ALDF for 3+ years that have been promoted:
89%
Staff Growth
Job Satisfaction
Turnover:
9.16%
National Nonprofit Turnover Rate:
Current staff who have
left and returned
5
Current staff employed
5+ years
15
Yearly Retreat
We all get together once a year face-to-face to connect and collaborate.
Strategic Planning
Full staff involvement in every 3 year strategic planning cycle.
Lunch & Learn
Regularly scheduled luncheons to learn about organizational opportunities and successes.
Core Values
Compassion, Commitment, Intergrity, Innovation, & Balance
Good News Fridays
Our weekly newsletter shares organization wins, shout outs, and cute companion animal photos!