They take advantage of the fact that most people entering the business come from the arts industry and don't realize how much they should be compensated for their work in the tech sector. They rely on this and disguise it as parity to keep costs low and justify not giving new joiners an industry competitive (or even standard) salary in order to keep compensation "fair" amongst team members. Part of the low compensation is also that they serve non-profits and want to keep costs accessible which is lovely but doesn't pay the bills for the people who actually do the work. Benefits are very bare bones. Usually if your comp is low you can at least expect a robust benefits plan.