Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Emma's House Bitterroot Valley -

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 205484868
MT · NTEE I72
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Valerie Widmer, Executive Director / CEO ($103,286) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 65 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 97th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Valerie Widmer — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

65 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 65 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,555 total compensation of comparable organizations → $137,818 $103,286
$42,26110th
$50,25125th
$59,554Median
$70,42175th
$83,07090th
$103,286This org · 97th
p10$42,261
p25$50,251
p50$59,554
p75$70,421
p90$83,070
$103,286

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 MT 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
Valley Of The Moon Children's CA$312,091 Director Of Programs $63,285 $50,695 2023
Fresno Child Abuse Prevention Council CA$311,555 Executive Director $106,181 $85,058 2023
Children's Advocacy Center TN$311,408 Executive Director $64,541 $59,554 2025
A Caring Place Child OH$310,505 Executive Di $52,192 $51,282 2023
Great Plains Casa For Kids Inc TX$317,993 Executive Di $63,716 $57,431 2024
Exploited Children's Help Organization KY$322,500 Executive Director $80,089 $79,824 2023
Casa Of The High Plains Inc TX$323,108 Executive Di $53,594 $48,307 2024
Celebrate Children Foundation WI$305,214 Executive Director $29,353 $27,623 2024
Inheritance Adoptions TX$304,960 Executive Director $87,313 $78,700 2024
Unsilenced Project Inc CA$302,540 President $38,640 $30,953 2023
Celestial Services Inc CA$325,974 Ceo $52,500 $40,850 2024
Edu4life AZ$300,636 Chief Executive Officer $65,943 $57,145 2024
Sexually Abused Children's Relief KS$329,106 Executive Director $54,677 $53,226 2024
Epik Project WA$330,083 Executive Director $68,750 $55,464 2024
Over The Rainbow PA$297,345 Executive Director $75,304 $67,668 2024
Unified Child Advocacy Network IL$331,902 Exec. Director $68,500 $62,474 2023
Child Abuse Prevention Services Of Tuscaloosa Inc AL$333,157 Director $50,140 $50,251 2023
The Blue Ribbon Project MD$291,188 Presidednt&director $25,622 $22,222 2023
Prevent Child Abuse Oregon OR$285,797 Executive Dir. $95,708 $80,088 2024
African Institute For Children Studies AZ$285,614 Executive Director $72,813 $61,473 2025
Youth Services Bureau Of IN$346,570 Executive Di $54,159 $52,984 2023
Child Assault Prevention Project Of Washoe County NV$280,285 Executive Director $65,000 $57,196 2025
Hope Haven Of Hancock County Inc MS$348,779 Board Member $2,473 $2,555 2023
North Star Family Advocacy Center MN$279,355 Executive Dir. $106,000 $94,379 2024
Randolph County Childrens Advocacy Center Inc WV$350,000 Executive Director $61,685 $58,631 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MT 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 MT 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 default97th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)92nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted94th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted94th

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 (Valerie Widmer) 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 65 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (I72), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $103,286 is reasonable (approximately the 97th 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.