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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Head First Development

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 202479901
UT · NTEE Q33
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Cindy Eppard, Executive Director / CEO ($86,278) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 129 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 91st percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Cindy Eppard — reported title “EXEC. VP, OP”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

129 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 129 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$384 total compensation of comparable organizations → $161,265 $86,278
$9,11510th
$19,56925th
$35,568Median
$55,04375th
$83,02090th
$86,278This org · 91st
p10$9,115
p25$19,569
p50$35,568
p75$55,043
p90$83,020
$86,278

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 UT 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
African Outreach Ministries IL$180,019 Director $22,680 $21,160 2024
Aidak MD$181,092 Board Member $2,678 $2,376 2024
Friends Of Sharing The Dream In Guatemala SD$177,689 Executive Director $43,100 $45,142 2024
Love Never Fails International Inc NJ$181,672 Founder & Executive Director $44,615 $38,920 2023
Breaking The Chain NJ$184,311 President & Ceo $29,621 $25,840 2023
Compassion Connection CA$185,155 Ceo/president $79,500 $65,149 2024
Womens And Children's Advocacy Cent OR$185,789 Executive Di $52,699 $45,248 2025
Canopy International Inc TX$186,073 President And Director $121,764 $115,594 2024
Raising Hope Inc PA$171,014 President $21,140 $20,007 2024
Haiti H2o PA$189,785 Executive Director $25,000 $23,660 2024
Romanian Children's Relief Inc FL$191,256 Executive Director $24,800 $22,110 2024
Ten Thousand Villages-richmond Va Inc VA$191,403 Exec Dir Store Mgr $53,000 $48,565 2024
Engineers Without Borders- International CO$192,242 Executive Director $60,000 $56,213 2023
Partners For Cancer Care And MD$166,465 Executive Director $61,500 $56,178 2023
Heart Of Christ-corazon De Cristo Inc AL$165,779 President $11,300 $11,586 2024
Christian Dominican Medical Mission TX$165,638 Intern Director $5,616 $5,332 2024
To Cry For Grace Inc TN$193,465 President $4,800 $4,930 2023
Haiti Medical Mission Of Wisconsin Inc WI$194,257 Executive Director $49,453 $50,462 2023
Rural Gospel & Medical Missions Of KS$195,082 President $54,800 $56,185 2024
Children Up IL$163,314 Executive Director $46,388 $42,165 2025
Go Inc OR$195,842 Director Of Operations $23,367 $20,594 2024
The Small-scale Sustainable Infra- MA$163,039 Treasurer $24,750 $21,731 2023
Faith Revealed ND$196,152 Director $30,000 $31,244 2024
Vamos Adelante Foundation IL$196,271 President $97,494 $90,963 2024
Barnabas Ministries Inc PA$162,050 Executive Di $36,000 $34,070 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to UT 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 UT 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 default91st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)90th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted82nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted91st

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 (Cindy Eppard) 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 129 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (Q33), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $86,278 is reasonable (approximately the 91st 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.