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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Mercy House Of Meadville Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 251890964
PA · NTEE F30
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Cynthia K Kightlinger, Executive Director / CEO ($71,413) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 73 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 59th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Cynthia K Kightlinger — reported title “President”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

73 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 73 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$3,453 total compensation of comparable organizations → $210,508 $71,413
$25,46910th
$40,60725th
$63,079Median
$84,51475th
$116,29190th
$71,413This org · 59th
p10$25,469
p25$40,607
p50$63,079
p75$84,514
p90$116,291
$71,413

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
Margin To Center Consulting WA$423,522 Executive Dir. $24,423 $21,297 2024
Rise Corp MI$422,111 President $91,355 $91,843 2024
Community Counseling Center Of Central CT$430,983 Clinical Direct $75,010 $70,525 2023
Carter Issac Enterprises Inc IN$418,210 Board Member $61,461 $63,130 2024
21 Roots Farm MN$433,211 Cofounder Board $26,667 $26,423 2023
Care Counselors Incorporated CA$407,349 Director, President $94,948 $82,215 2023
Warrior Built Foundation Inc CA$406,983 President $35,102 $29,523 2024
East Nashville Wellness Center TN$444,298 Cmo/president $99,198 $101,560 2024
Yuan Tze Ren Xue Center CA$444,743 President/board Member $52,000 $43,735 2024
Grace Christian Counseling Center MS$405,957 Executive Director $58,325 $65,140 2023
Lifespan Nj Inc NJ$445,659 Director Of Op. $57,692 $50,171 2024
The Mindcap Center Inc IN$446,131 Executive Di $71,221 $75,315 2023
Electric City Counseling PA$403,486 President/ceo $101,105 $98,204 2024
Spirit - Peers For Independence & CA$448,235 Executive Dir. $40,312 $34,906 2023
K9s On The Front Line ME$449,827 Co-founder $41,760 $40,729 2024
Community Resilience Initiative WA$451,310 Executive Director $36,256 $31,617 2024
The Barbara Stone Foundation SC$397,466 Executive Director $81,000 $80,184 2025
Sana Healing Collective IL$456,802 President $51,200 $49,027 2024
The Equus Effect Inc CT$393,223 Executive Director/board M $31,665 $28,918 2024
Vermont Federation Of Families For Children's Mental Health Inc VT$458,244 Executive Director $68,457 $65,383 2025
911 At Ease International Inc CA$387,928 Secretary $75,000 $63,079 2024
Fortaleza Atravez Barreras OR$465,891 Executive Director $11,900 $11,082 2023
Mental Health Association Of VA$382,845 Executive Di $109,972 $103,423 2024
Steps With Horses TX$375,071 Executive Director $103,067 $100,419 2024
Partners In-kind MO$371,154 Co-exe Director $128,779 $132,851 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to PA 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 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 default59th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)59th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted63rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted53rd

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 (Cynthia K Kightlinger) 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 73 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (F30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $71,413 is reasonable (approximately the 59th 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.