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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Mississippi Urban League

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 274272183
MS · NTEE P20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Portia Espy, Executive Director / CEO ($108,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 1048 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 97th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

1,048 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 1,048 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$233 total compensation of comparable organizations → $186,316 $108,000
$10,93610th
$23,74525th
$43,573Median
$63,22475th
$82,35290th
$108,000This org · 97th
p10$10,936
p25$23,745
p50$43,573
p75$63,224
p90$82,352
$108,000

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 MS 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
Christian Medical Ministries Inc FL$290,062 Executive Di $59,048 $48,377 2024
Love Heals Free Clinic Inc ID$290,024 Executive Dir. $120,000 $114,617 2023
Vine And Fig Tree VA$290,001 Vice Preside $80,000 $69,355 2023
A Touch From Above Lsm Inc CA$290,140 Treasurer $12,000 $8,804 2025
Dupont Circle Village DC$290,350 Executive Director $109,000 $83,418 2024
Bananas Foster Inc GA$289,758 Executive Director $60,000 $52,614 2024
Legacies Empowered Inc OH$290,517 Executive Director $38,896 $35,928 2024
Dream It Forward Foundation Inc GA$289,481 Executive Director $62,400 $56,334 2023
People Partners Foundation CA$289,337 Executive Director $84,931 $63,958 2024
United Way Of Daviess County Inc IN$289,300 Executive Director $55,570 $51,107 2024
Raised At Full Draw IA$290,826 Coo $71,809 $68,571 2024
Sweet Grace Ministries PA$289,134 President/ex $45,898 $41,096 2023
The Pass Along Project NH$289,049 President / Exec Dir $12,000 $9,664 2024
Solid Rock Development Corporation TN$291,080 Secretary $15,670 $14,364 2024
California Hands And Voices CA$291,242 Executive Director $45,250 $35,083 2023
The Okra Project NY$291,276 Executive Director $112,000 $88,263 2024
Centro Tepeyac Inc MD$288,520 Former Director $31,500 $25,683 2024
Home Of Joseph Foundation TX$288,408 Director $24,450 $21,330 2024
Helping Hands In Motion Inc FL$288,325 Director $38,154 $31,258 2024
Michael's Angel Paws Inc NV$291,946 Executive Di $52,000 $45,457 2024
Miami Shores People Of Color Inc FL$292,006 Exec Dir $76,000 $64,104 2023
Sunday Love Project PA$292,020 Executive Di $66,983 $59,976 2023
Sacred Spaces Of Care IL$287,859 Executive Director $111,320 $95,444 2024
Bread Of Life Ministries Of Minnesota MN$287,826 President/treas $14,800 $12,753 2024
San Francisco Students Back On Track CA$287,822 Director $96,000 $72,295 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MS 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 MS 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 default97th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)94th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted98th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted94th

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 (Portia Espy) 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 1048 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (P20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $108,000 is reasonable (approximately the 97th 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.