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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Soaring Society Of America

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 270934003
NM · NTEE N11
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Denise Layton, Executive Director / CEO ($11,873) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 23 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 22nd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

23 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 23 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$643 total compensation of comparable organizations → $114,711 $11,873
$4,07510th
$18,67525th
$35,439Median
$83,78675th
$106,29290th
$11,873This org · 22nd
p10$4,075
p25$18,675
p50$35,439
p75$83,786
p90$106,292
$11,873

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 NM 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
Hoopla Association OR$300,007 President $5,000 $4,317 2023
Yakima Ymca Qalicb WA$276,253 President $23,216 $18,771 2024
Eyes Up Sports Ministries SD$332,851 Director $110,000 $109,633 2024
Atlanta Memorial Park Conservancy Inc GA$338,856 Executive Director $97,608 $91,249 2023
Albany Area Gymnastics Association MN$341,559 Executive Di $36,000 $32,124 2024
Virginia Sports Hall Of Fame Foundation VA$345,439 Executive Director $95,749 $85,955 2023
Special Olympics Florida Foundation Inc FL$249,798 President $40,574 $35,439 2023
Jp4 Foundation MN$360,334 Executive Dir. $88,840 $81,617 2023
North Bay Officials Organization Inc CA$244,092 President $846 $643 2025
Walter Johnson Crew Club Inc MD$365,804 Head Coach $22,004 $18,578 2024
Jesse Owens Runners Club Inc AL$239,017 Director $22,140 $21,601 2024
Bodie Foundation CA$369,426 Executive Director $68,600 $53,495 2024
Little Falls Sports Arena MN$372,625 Arena Manager $53,015 $46,088 2025
Palisades Parks Conservancy Inc NY$391,399 Executive Director $140,569 $114,711 2024
Bravo Athletics Volleyball Club CA$395,765 Ceo $73,500 $57,316 2024
Friends Of The Riverwalk Inc FL$397,125 Executive Director $128,471 $108,991 2024
Union Sharewaves Foundation KS$207,195 President/director $68,753 $67,077 2024
Camp Aranzazu Foundation TX$401,233 Executive Director $102,679 $95,496 2023
Mbp Helping Hands GA$409,686 Executive Director $2,000 $1,870 2023
Pittsford Crew Inc NY$412,447 Treasurer $12,000 $9,793 2024
Usa Climbing Foundation UT$428,081 Chief Executive Officer $22,110 $20,436 2024
Norcal Womens Lacrosse Officials CA$442,334 Director & President $5,000 $4,014 2023
Childhood Drowning Prevention Foundation CA$445,733 President $36,550 $28,502 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NM 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 NM 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 default22nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)17th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted87th

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 (Denise Layton) 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 23 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (N11), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $11,873 is reasonable (approximately the 22nd 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.