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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Hope Unexpected

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 320410678
MI · NTEE P40
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Susan Lickley, Executive Director / CEO ($49,816) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 183 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 51st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

183 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 183 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,877 total compensation of comparable organizations → $125,488 $49,816
$16,86110th
$31,81825th
$48,542Median
$65,58975th
$82,44590th
$49,816This org · 51st
p10$16,861
p25$31,818
p50$48,542
p75$65,589
p90$82,445
$49,816

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 MI 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
Carsons Village TX$309,758 Coo $61,610 $57,995 2024
Yes 2 Kollege Educational CA$306,956 President & Ceo $14,500 $12,131 2023
Ritchie County Family Resource Network Inc WV$313,240 Director $35,224 $36,950 2023
Ethaar Inc GA$300,589 Executive Director $49,039 $46,401 2024
In The City For Good TX$316,769 President/ceo/director $52,000 $48,949 2024
Raising Readers In Story County IA$317,301 Executive Director $71,338 $71,610 2025
Tates Place TX$318,493 President/ceo $23,000 $21,650 2024
Link Inc IA$318,577 Executive Director $49,410 $52,415 2023
Foundation Restoration Inc NC$319,339 Chief Executive Officers $58,416 $58,478 2023
Southern Sudan Mission Inc TX$297,124 President $43,402 $42,062 2023
Fiesta Thrift Store Inc AZ$297,085 Store Manager $30,000 $27,150 2024
Crossroads Pregnancy Resource Cente LA$294,825 Executive Di $71,750 $74,349 2024
Pregnancy Support Center Of Carroll MD$293,769 Executive Dir. $57,000 $50,148 2024
Mary's Choices Inc KS$323,914 Executive Director $40,655 $41,332 2024
Mariposa Child Success Programs Inc MD$293,020 President, Cheif Academic $99,996 $90,573 2023
Stepping Stone Charlottesville VA$292,252 Exec. Direct $29,998 $27,256 2024
The Guiding Star Project MN$325,440 Ceo $30,000 $28,720 2023
Family Mentor Foundation OH$290,839 Executive Director $65,000 $64,786 2024
Katie Teets Bradshaw Comfort House Inc VA$290,655 Community Coordinator $50,000 $46,773 2023
The Forward Foundation TX$290,161 President $128,807 $121,251 2024
Hoke Domestic Violence & Sexual Assualt Center Inc NC$327,270 Executive Director $24,433 $23,757 2024
Leon County Domestic Violence Advocates Inc TX$328,270 Program Director $80,775 $78,282 2023
Neighborlink Porter County IN$288,351 Executive Dir. $38,610 $38,315 2024
Babe Whitley County Inc IN$330,059 Executive Director $34,337 $34,075 2024
Hustle Mommies IL$287,016 President $61,029 $58,129 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MI 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 MI 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 default51st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)49th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted54th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted49th

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 (Susan Lickley) 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 183 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (P40), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $49,816 is reasonable (approximately the 51st 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.