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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Community Economic Advancement Initiative Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 320468156
OH · NTEE I20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sil Watkins, Executive Director / CEO ($3,747) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 6 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 17th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Sil Watkins — reported title “Director”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

6 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 6 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,113 total compensation of comparable organizations → $71,383 $3,747
$4,69510th
$7,73525th
$14,695Median
$22,80075th
$47,51290th
$3,747This org · 17th
p10$4,695
p25$7,735
p50$14,695
p75$22,800
p90$47,512
$3,747

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 OH 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
Institute For African Women In Law DE$18,915 Executive Di $75,000 $71,383 2023
Complete Picture CA$17,854 Ceo Co-founder $24,160 $20,279 2023
Corporation For Justice Management Inc MA$19,857 President/director $10,430 $9,110 2023
Hmong American Mediation Center Inc MN$20,000 Executive Director $2,200 $2,113 2023
Great Plains Counseling Center OK$16,726 Whiteside $7,000 $7,277 2024
Colorado Foundation For Justice CO$26,000 Executive Director $26,112 $23,640 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to OH 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 OH 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 default17th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)17th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted17th

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 (Sil Watkins) 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 6 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (I), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $3,747 is reasonable (approximately the 17th 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.