NOVATO, CA – September 5, 2025 – Community Action Marin, one of Marin’s largest employers with more than 225 staff, announced today that it raised its entry-level wage to $24/hour—up from $23/hour and well above Marin County’s minimum wage of $16.50/hour. Notably, for the past five years, this anti-poverty nonprofit has increased its baseline wage by an average of 10% each year, far exceeding federal cost-of-living adjustments.
“As we entered this year’s budget process, the scenarios we were facing were complex and uncertain,” said Chandra Alexandre, CEO of Community Action Marin. “Despite the volatility in public funding, our Board of Directors unanimously approved a budget that keeps our values front and center. This decision reinforces our commitment to staff who themselves face everyday challenges. They are the heart and hope of our agency. The work they do helps people and changes lives.”
The majority of Community Action Marin’s operating budget is from local, state, and federal government sources. Like many human service organizations, CAM is grappling with the ripple effects of delayed contracts and budget cuts at the state and federal level. Still, the agency has strengthened its priorities, including its commitment to pay equity.
“Our investment in staff is intentional,” said Mike Smylie, Board Treasurer. “Through careful financial stewardship, leverage of existing dollars, and strategies that maximize the impact of unrestricted funding, we’ve been able to do what many say is impossible in the nonprofit sector. I’ve been involved in several nonprofits, and what Community Action Marin has done over the past five years to raise wages and care for its people is simply unparalleled.”
With this latest increase, Community Action Marin continues to set the standard for its peoplecentered pay equity work in the region. The new $24/hour base wage is part of a broader Equity and Well-being Roadmap implemented in 2020 that centers mission and well-being for staff. Advancing a livable wage is what anti-poverty movement building requires for CAM.
“Creating positive change in our community must begin in our own house. Raising our wage floor is one important way that we commit to justice,” Alexandre added. “It’s about building the future we know is possible starting with the people who make change happen daily. We will continue working toward a future in which everyone in Marin can live, work, and thrive with dignity and purpose. This pay increase reaffirms CAM’s role as a leading voice for economic justice in Marin.”
DOWNLOAD this press release.