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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Hardwick Area Food Pantry Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 364540160
VT · NTEE K31
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Heather Davis, Executive Director / CEO ($16,566) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 76 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 20th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

76 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 76 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$544 total compensation of comparable organizations → $129,127 $16,566
$9,10410th
$19,77025th
$38,399Median
$61,92975th
$76,26590th
$16,566This org · 20th
p10$9,104
p25$19,770
p50$38,399
p75$61,929
p90$76,265
$16,566

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 VT 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
Bushels Of Blessings NJ$382,269 Executive Director $15,217 $13,498 2024
The Good Shepherd Food Pantry Of Bertie County Nc Inc NC$379,382 Executive Director $48,640 $51,407 2023
Illinois Valley Food Pantry IL$378,887 Executive Dir. $44,792 $42,622 2025
Porch-hillsborough NC$383,696 Director $15,280 $16,149 2023
Guardians Of Hope Inc MT$373,796 Secretary $22,752 $24,366 2024
South Corvallis Food Bank OR$388,150 Exectutive Director $33,959 $31,332 2024
Charity Series Of Poker NV$388,171 President $67,333 $69,036 2023
Murphysboro Food Pantry Inc IL$373,004 Exec Director $72,937 $71,241 2024
New Life Ministries - Indiana Inc IN$372,659 President $16,885 $18,214 2023
Helping Hands Caring Hearts Inc AR$396,581 Executive Di $29,280 $32,699 2024
Irondequoit Community Cupboard Inc NY$363,688 Executive Director $50,013 $46,226 2023
Appling County Food Bank Inc GA$363,120 Director $16,821 $16,804 2024
Guilderland Food Pantry Inc NY$358,568 Executive $26,590 $23,872 2024
Tennessee Food On Foot Foundation Inc TN$358,356 President $13,500 $14,098 2024
Storehouse Food Pantry TN$403,881 Treasurer $5,900 $6,343 2023
Food Pantry Of Jeff Davis County Inc TX$352,735 Executive Director $35,614 $35,394 2024
Gatesville Care Center TX$410,582 Co-director $20,400 $20,274 2024
The Lovve Project CO$346,015 Executive Di $49,808 $47,450 2024
Caring And Sharing Food Pantry Inc OH$345,976 Executive Di $17,745 $18,673 2024
Pantry 279 Inc IN$342,724 Director $8,573 $8,982 2024
King Ferry Food Pantry Inc NY$338,002 Executive Director $43,500 $39,053 2024
Feed The Needy TN$424,121 Chairwoman And Ceo $32,196 $33,623 2024
Veggies To Table ME$425,428 Director $42,060 $41,843 2024
Feeding Wilmington Inc NC$330,442 Chair-elect $23,644 $24,272 2024
Pearland Neighborhood Center TX$432,212 Executive Director $47,544 $48,646 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VT 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 VT 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 default20th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)20th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted22nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted20th

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 (Heather Davis) 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 76 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (K31), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $16,566 is reasonable (approximately the 20th 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.