The Aldo Leopold Nature Center announced Wednesday the successful completion of its Building Our Legacy capital campaign, which allows it to raise the organization’s minimum base pay to $20 per hour for all regular staff.
The multi-year Building Our Legacy campaign was designed to prepare the center for the future by investing in both its physical campus and the people who work there.
Campaign funds will support critical infrastructure improvements, accessibility enhancements and long-term sustainability.
“We are proud to take this step,” Betsy Parker, executive director of the nature center, said in a statement. “Raising our minimum pay reflects both our values and our responsibility to our staff and community.
By setting a $20 per hour minimum wage, the center moves ahead of many nonprofits in Dane County, according to a statement. Recent regional nonprofit wage surveys place the median base wage closer to $17-$18 per hour, and the city of Madison’s 2025 “living wage” standard for contracted employees is $17 an hour.
“We want to be transparent,” Parker said. “$20 an hour is an important step forward, but it is not yet a fully thriving wage in a community where the cost of living continues to rise. We see this as part of a multi-year journey — one that will require continued community support, thoughtful planning and a sustainable business model.”
The Goodman Community Center also provides the same minimum base pay and served as an example to the nature center.
