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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Ahead Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 341800520
OH · NTEE P20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Erica Thom, Executive Director / CEO ($61,478) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 29 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 69th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

How comparable organizations were selected

29 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 29 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$412 total compensation of comparable organizations → $201,707 $61,478
$6,77210th
$35,07225th
$49,000Median
$81,83675th
$105,44990th
$61,478This org · 69th
p10$6,772
p25$35,072
p50$49,000
p75$81,836
p90$105,449
$61,478

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.

OrganizationStateTotal revenueTotal compSource
The National Threshers AssociationOH $197,015$824 990
Downtown ChillicotheOH $173,376$49,000 990
The Israel Story IncOH $171,747$93,948 990
Black Child Development Institute OhioOH $169,105$42,983 990
Seven Baskets Community Development CorporationOH $202,529$3,858 990
Destination Canal WinchesterOH $202,723$46,329 990
Potters House Ministries IncOH $167,060$65,167 990
To Whom It May ConcernOH $203,951$47,840 990
Childrens Lantern IncOH $166,793$44,225 990
EquasionOH $210,318$26,400 990
Licking Co Coalition Of CareOH $210,399$52,651 990
Black Leaders Against Sex Trafficking IncOH $217,049$60,000 990
Bellbrook Sugarcreek Community Support CenterOH $218,168$35,072 990
Happen IncOH $220,770$35,698 990
Faith For CultureOH $227,574$130,619 990
Never Give Up Never QuitOH $230,250$100,000 990
The Phillis Wheatley Association IncOH $139,979$43,200 990
Hopes LandingOH $139,966$11,625 990
The Kevin Donovan Foundation IncOH $139,675$7,500 990
The Josina Lott FoundationOH $134,480$127,245 990
Southwest India Christian Mission IncOH $239,515$81,836 990
Lancaster-fairfield County Charity Newsies IncOH $246,080$412 990
Juvenile Justice CoalitionOH $249,390$88,369 990
Adventures In Truth MinistriesOH $249,483$50,242 990
Her AcademyOH $249,626$201,707 990

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 default69th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)69th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted72nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted69th

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 (Erica Thom) 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 29 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (P20) + OH + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $61,478 is reasonable (approximately the 69th 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). 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.