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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Fresh Start For All Nations

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 260858275
NE · NTEE T30
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Melinda A Peterson, Executive Director / CEO ($48,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 225 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 49th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Melinda A Peterson — reported title “VICE PRESIDENT”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

225 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 225 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$971 total compensation of comparable organizations → $316,274 $48,000
$11,41610th
$23,43525th
$49,130Median
$77,11875th
$111,55590th
$48,000This org · 49th
p10$11,416
p25$23,435
p50$49,130
p75$77,118
p90$111,555
$48,000

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 NE 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
Project Alive FL$407,104 President $88,293 $77,118 2024
Rehema Home Us Fundraising Inc NY$407,357 Executive Director $43,042 $36,162 2024
Ybor City Chamber Of Commerce Inc FL$408,535 President Ceo $55,000 $46,800 2025
Vandergrift Lacrosse Booster TX$409,148 Program Director $30,000 $27,182 2025
Worldbuilders Inc WI$404,915 Fmr Exec Dir $8,615 $8,612 2023
Houston Food Bank Endowment Inc TX$404,475 President & Ceo $76,743 $73,483 2023
Talor Gooch Foundation Inc OK$410,360 Director & Secr $72,903 $74,637 2024
Cise - Sgo OH$410,610 President $16,185 $15,938 2024
Ruth's Way Inc MA$402,755 Director $45,500 $37,035 2025
Riverside County Physicians Memorial CA$400,463 Ceo $50,138 $40,253 2024
The Dragon Kim Foundation CA$399,009 Chair-founder $113,679 $91,266 2024
Merlin's Magic Wand Foundation CA$398,879 Foundation Manager $71,322 $57,260 2024
Multitude Of Mercies Foundation OR$416,764 President $85,000 $73,391 2024
Houston Marathon Foundation TX$417,366 Executive Director $22,070 $19,997 2025
Brookshire Brothers Charitable TX$417,884 Treasurer $20,236 $19,376 2023
The Next Chapter Foundation Inc CO$396,464 President $66,904 $59,646 2024
Shalom Mountain Inc NY$418,262 Executive Director $65,514 $55,042 2024
Interserv Foundation MO$418,738 Executive Director $11,200 $11,029 2024
Farmers Electric Charitable Foundation TX$419,884 Executive Director $180,924 $173,237 2023
Http DC$394,172 Executive Director $98,654 $80,490 2024
Wilkes County Community Partnership Inc GA$391,762 Executive Director $41,483 $38,780 2024
Michigan Statewide Independent Living Corporation MI$390,744 Executive Director $107,505 $103,168 2024
Friends Of Bethany Hamilton Inc HI$423,852 Executive D $28,400 $24,339 2023
Cast Hope CA$387,121 Officer $82,500 $66,234 2024
The Claddagh Fund Charities Inc MA$387,075 Executive Di $39,000 $33,547 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NE 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 NE 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 default49th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)44th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted53rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted31st

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 (Melinda A Peterson) 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 225 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (T30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $48,000 is reasonable (approximately the 49th 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.