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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Cortex

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 300082817
MO · NTEE S20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sam Fiorello, Executive Director / CEO ($559,646) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 67 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 99th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Sam Fiorello — reported title “PRESIDENT & CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

67 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 67 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,306 total compensation of comparable organizations → $674,145 $559,646
$94,21010th
$121,61825th
$155,163Median
$192,57375th
$266,38390th
$559,646This org · 99th
p10$94,210
p25$121,618
p50$155,163
p75$192,573
p90$266,383
$559,646

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 MO 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
Neighborhood Development Services Inc OH$12,143,785 Executive Director $141,884 $141,884 2024
Allegany County Human Resources MD$12,444,667 Executive Di $134,495 $118,718 2024
San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual CA$12,455,737 Executive Director/preside $201,848 $169,422 2023
Red Por Los Derechos De La Niez Y PR$12,063,045 Executive Di $146,290 $146,290 2024
Opening Doors Inc CA$12,006,367 Ceo $189,550 $154,535 2024
🔒 62 more comparable organizations — included in the purchased report

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MO 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 MO 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 default99th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)99th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted99th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted96th

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:

Ready-to-adopt board minutes — executive compensation

🔒 The complete minutes language — three numbered resolutions pre-filled with this organization, the 67-organization comparison, the date, and the percentile finding, ready to paste into your minutes — is included in the purchased report.

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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.