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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Higher Living Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 010601868
NC · NTEE L20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Annette Nichols, Executive Director / CEO ($39,959) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 284 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 60th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Annette Nichols — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

284 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 284 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$144 total compensation of comparable organizations → $328,827 $39,959
$7,00310th
$17,17025th
$33,941Median
$56,13175th
$76,54790th
$39,959This org · 60th
p10$7,003
p25$17,170
p50$33,941
p75$56,131
p90$76,547
$39,959

Comparable organizations

Each figure is Form 990 Part VII columns D + F (reportable pay plus other compensation and benefits; column F may include amounts from related organizations), normalized to NC cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateRevenueMatched titleComp
(reported)
Comp
(adjusted)
FY
United Church Residences Of Holly OH$278,636 Treasurer $34,230 $35,088 2023
Hearth Beacon Inc MA$277,194 Cao/pres. & Ceo (As Of 11/23) $10,124 $8,805 2023
Oh 126th St Housing Development NY$277,143 President $87,582 $76,594 2023
Ler Housing Development Fund Corp NY$277,109 President $101,830 $86,499 2024
Harlem United Supportive NY$276,480 President $4,327 $3,784 2023
Macarthur Manor Senior Residences KS$281,484 President $2,639 $2,680 2024
91 Carlton Avenue Housing Development NY$281,966 Ceo $59,698 $50,710 2024
Piedmont Senior Housing Corporation SC$282,120 Exec Director $5,140 $5,041 2024
New Rochelle Community Housing NY$275,251 Executive Vice President $39,301 $33,384 2024
Southwest Philadelphia Presbytery PA$282,406 Chief Executive Officer $292,739 $274,425 2024
Gladwin Ogemaw Fuller Center For MI$275,039 Executive Di $26,460 $26,432 2023
Alt Affordable Housing Services Inc - TX$282,598 Executive Director $18,000 $16,926 2024
Housing Opportunities Housing NY$274,875 President $2,614 $2,220 2024
Asi Southern Nevada Inc MN$283,090 President/tr $65,715 $62,843 2023
South Hampton Roads Supportive MN$283,227 President Tr $65,715 $62,843 2023
Casa Esperanza Project IL$284,474 Executive Director $75,934 $70,175 2024
Association To Benefit Children Hdfc NY$285,288 President/ceo $109,836 $96,055 2023
Pine Cone Manor Inc MN$272,190 President/ceo $18,462 $17,148 2024
Moreland Affordable Housing Corporation MA$272,007 President (As Of 1/2024) $19,566 $16,528 2024
Northwest Charities UT$285,690 President & Ceo $36,100 $34,732 2024
Ser Community Development Corporation TX$285,957 Director (Ceo, Ser Jobs) $7,031 $6,611 2024
Parker Street Foundation CA$286,001 Secretary Treasurer $4,488 $3,643 2024
Citizen Robotics Inc MI$286,772 Ceo $64,615 $62,694 2024
Montana Mobility Impaired Housing MN$267,768 President/tr $65,715 $62,843 2023
Better Homes Inc PA$290,196 Executive Di $69,418 $66,997 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NC cost of living and 2023 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.

Methodology

Comparable organizations were drawn from electronically filed IRS Form 990 returns and matched on sector (NTEE code), budget (a size-adaptive revenue band that tightens as the organization grows), and geography (same-state first, broadening only when too few peers qualify); every organization within the band forms the peer set. To compare fairly across regions and years, peer compensation is normalized to NC cost of living (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2023) and to the subject's filing year (CPI-U). The figure benchmarked is Form 990 Part VII, Section A, columns D + F — reportable pay plus other compensation, benefits, and deferred amounts (column F may include amounts from related organizations) — with the chief executive matched by role. Related-organization amounts (column E) and institutional trustees are excluded. Full methodology: peerbasis.org/methodology.

Sample, role match & sensitivity

Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:

BasisSubject percentile
Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default60th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)56th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted80th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted17th

If the percentile moves materially across these definitions, the result is sensitive to methodology choices, and the board should weigh which basis best fits its facts.

Rebuttable presumption of reasonableness · 26 CFR 53.4958-6

Compensation paid by a tax-exempt organization is presumed reasonable — shifting the burden to the IRS — when three requirements are met. This report supplies the comparability data for the second. The board should record the following in its minutes concurrently with its decision:

Draft board minutes — executive compensation

  1. The compensation of the Executive Director / CEO (Annette Nichols) was approved in advance by [the Board / Compensation Committee], composed of members with no conflict of interest with respect to the arrangement.
  2. Prior to its determination, the authorized body obtained and relied upon appropriate comparability data, namely the PeerBasis Compensation Comparability Determination dated June 9, 2026, comparing compensation against 284 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (L20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $39,959 is reasonable (approximately the 60th percentile of comparable organizations) and documented the basis for this determination concurrently, on [date], by a vote of [__ for / __ against].

Sources: IRS Form 990 e-file data (apps.irs.gov); IRS Business Master File (NTEE classification). Every figure traces to an original public filing — click any organization above to verify it on ProPublica. PeerBasis is a service of Prismind Analytics; its methodology is published, was commissioned for independent adversarial review, and discloses its own limitations. This report is comparability data to support a board's good-faith determination under IRC 4958; it is not legal or tax advice. Generated by PeerBasis on June 9, 2026.