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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Mental Health Association

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 223476454
NJ · NTEE F99
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Wendy Depedro, Executive Director / CEO ($3,450) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 182 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 4th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Wendy Depedro — reported title “PRESIDENT/CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

182 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 182 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$240 total compensation of comparable organizations → $320,433 $3,450
$11,52910th
$24,78725th
$43,233Median
$66,20175th
$80,23790th
$3,450This org · 4th
p10$11,529
p25$24,787
p50$43,233
p75$66,201
p90$80,237
$3,450

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 NJ 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
Turning Everything Around NC$113,970 President $15,500 $17,938 2023
Strategies For Change CA$114,061 Director $38,295 $37,037 2023
Bunker Residential Home MO$111,118 Manager $23,914 $27,555 2024
Samaritan Counseling Center NY$110,406 Executive Di $48,651 $47,826 2024
Bell Tower Inc IN$109,853 Ex-officio & Regional Ceo $63,183 $74,627 2023
Amity Resource Management Inc NY$115,962 Executive Director $16,361 $16,559 2023
Thresholds Housing Inc IL$116,338 Chief Executive Officer $29,764 $32,774 2023
Family And Children's Center Inc IN$108,817 Dir Of Bus - $36,085 $41,399 2024
The Arc Of The Gulf Coast TX$116,993 Executive Director $61,300 $68,679 2023
Counseling At The Peak CO$108,117 Director $17,185 $17,927 2024
Dare Coalition Against Substance NC$118,147 Programs Dir $36,612 $42,370 2023
Standing Firm Ministries Inc AR$118,516 Director $4,017 $5,057 2023
Home Care Foundation Of New Jersey Inc NJ$106,518 President And Ceo $20,826 $20,229 2024
Stepping Stones To Success Inc CA$118,760 Ceo $32,400 $30,436 2024
Knowresolve MI$119,233 Executive Di $68,000 $78,611 2023
Special Needs Education And Resources Foundation PA$119,290 Officer $46,923 $50,906 2024
St Landry-evangeline Sexual Assault LA$119,804 Executive Di $31,200 $38,479 2023
Speakup About Drugs AR$105,249 Executive Director $44,804 $54,789 2024
Csms Physicians' Health & Education Fund CT$105,167 Executive Director $10,970 $11,520 2023
Aspire To Be Great OH$104,983 Exective Director $20,809 $23,977 2024
Consumer Avocates For Smoke Free Alternatives Association Inc NY$120,581 Ceo $56,837 $57,524 2023
Restoried Life SC$120,599 Member $60,000 $66,340 2025
Ocl Properties Vii Inc NY$104,552 Chief Financial Officer $73,290 $72,047 2024
Newbridge Fund Inc NJ$121,147 Ceo $11,980 $11,636 2024
The Foundation For Excellence In OR$103,363 Chief Administrative Offic $110,924 $112,064 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NJ 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 NJ 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 default4th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)4th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted74th

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 (Wendy Depedro) 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 182 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (F), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $3,450 is reasonable (approximately the 4th 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.