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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Dress For Success Lackawanna

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 232990774
PA · NTEE P80
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Serena A Howarth, Executive Director / CEO ($56,648) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 282 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 52nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

282 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 282 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$608 total compensation of comparable organizations → $380,012 $56,648
$15,64010th
$33,76225th
$55,383Median
$73,61875th
$89,11390th
$56,648This org · 52nd
p10$15,640
p25$33,762
p50$55,383
p75$73,618
p90$89,113
$56,648

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 PA 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
Humanitarian Services For Children Of Vietnam MN$313,243 Executive Director $34,500 $35,194 2023
Umpqua Valley Disabilities Network OR$313,570 Executive Di $79,912 $74,417 2024
Coordinated Care Alliance IL$314,064 Executive Director $61,096 $60,231 2024
Volunteer Interfaith Caregivers Sw TX$311,191 Executive Director $77,800 $78,040 2024
Rideability Therapeutic Riding Center Inc SC$314,689 Executive Director $26,829 $28,895 2023
Wa-id Volunteer Center Inc ID$310,552 Executive Director $79,435 $84,736 2024
Monroe Gospel Womens Mission WA$316,019 Executive Director $49,365 $44,319 2024
Guardian Advocates Inc IN$309,153 Ceo $13,012 $13,760 2024
Abled CA$308,176 Executive Director $9,000 $7,793 2024
Growing Veterans WA$307,655 Executive Director $60,769 $56,169 2023
Restoration Of Hope Inc AR$317,696 Director $48,760 $56,584 2023
Lutheran Housing Services 9 Inc OH$307,104 President/ce $54,426 $57,805 2024
Southeastern Ohio Center For OH$319,232 Exec Dir/pre $37,489 $39,817 2024
Pines Of Peace Inc NY$306,024 Executive Dir. $57,859 $52,428 2024
Northrop Loving Care Inc MI$319,280 Vice President $95,140 $98,473 2024
Mujeres Extraordinaries Inc CA$320,180 President $41,250 $36,773 2023
Mercy And Truth Christian Ministries Inc NC$304,428 President $90,789 $94,069 2024
Unlimited Potential Inc TX$304,008 Executive Director $75,600 $75,833 2024
Island Connections ME$302,749 Executive Di $63,622 $63,884 2024
Next Step Clubhouse NC$322,694 Executive Dir. $40,210 $41,663 2024
Justice Health Intiative Inc MA$323,991 Founder & Director $92,249 $83,126 2024
Wheelchair Ramp Accessibility Program IA$324,595 Program Manager $60,000 $65,878 2024
Dress For Success Of Western Massachusetts MA$324,685 Executive Director $60,608 $56,227 2023
Erins Hope For Friends Inc GA$300,546 Executive Dir. $70,785 $71,371 2024
Lutheran Housing Services 10 Inc OH$325,479 President/ce $62,368 $68,197 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to PA cost of living and 2024 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 PA 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 default52nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)53rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted56th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted46th

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 (Serena A Howarth) 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 282 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (P80), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $56,648 is reasonable (approximately the 52nd 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.