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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Freedom Foundation Of Minnesota

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 364592698
MN · NTEE S99
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Annette Meeks, Executive Director / CEO ($110,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 53 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 92nd percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Annette Meeks — reported title “CEO, SECRETARY, TREASURER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

53 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 53 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,250 total compensation of comparable organizations → $253,940 $110,000
$6,39010th
$20,08525th
$47,333Median
$72,56475th
$89,94690th
$110,000This org · 92nd
p10$6,390
p25$20,085
p50$47,333
p75$72,564
p90$89,946
$110,000

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 MN 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
Vermont Council Of Special Education VT$223,586 Executive Dir. $26,000 $25,061 2025
International Foundation For Cultural CO$223,551 First Vp $6,500 $6,127 2024
Glover Park Alliance DC$227,283 Executive Director $92,942 $80,173 2024
Friends Inc AL$219,008 Executive Director $57,500 $62,867 2023
Roots & Dreams And Mustard Seeds Inc MA$231,240 President, Co-director $44,044 $38,905 2024
Plaza Terrace Mutual Housing CT$235,418 Executive Director $31,395 $29,790 2023
Westside Rising IL$212,744 Executive Dir. $44,872 $43,365 2024
The Hydrous CA$238,045 Ceo $84,000 $71,301 2024
Habitat For Neighborhood Business MO$209,384 Executive Director $26,250 $27,330 2024
Takotna Community Association AK$208,523 Secretary $10,500 $9,868 2024
Detroit Greenways Coalition MI$207,038 Executive Director $50,000 $52,229 2023
Buffalo Reuse Inc NY$207,027 President $8,378 $7,442 2024
Integrative Development Initiative CA$205,875 2023 Cfo & Food Cycle Collective Co-coordinator $2,581 $2,256 2023
Kulaiwi Land Trust HI$205,010 Interim Executive Director-ceo $18,750 $16,989 2023
Built2last Innovations Lab Inc NC$203,953 Executive Director $119,439 $124,897 2023
Societa Mutuo Socorso Enrico Caruso In Manville Ri RI$202,411 Treasurer $6,300 $6,114 2023
Community Alliance For Jewish-affiliated Cemeteries Inc NY$249,041 Ceo $141,282 $125,496 2024
Citizens4community OR$200,555 Executive Director $78,056 $71,255 2024
Indiana Community Development IN$250,264 Treasurer - Director $70,249 $72,822 2024
Venture Carolina SC$199,622 Executive Director $5,400 $5,538 2024
Rebuilding Together Central Alabama AL$195,730 Executive Director $65,000 $69,028 2024
Leadmo MO$194,877 Executive Director $39,229 $40,844 2024
Enterprise Development & Management Corp IN$194,491 Board Member $3,600 $3,842 2023
Harvard Townhouse Inc NE$262,230 Executive Director $21,014 $22,217 2024
For A Loving Future CA$187,464 Ceo $107,950 $89,268 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MN 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 MN 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 default92nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)92nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted92nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted83rd

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 (Annette Meeks) 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 53 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $110,000 is reasonable (approximately the 92nd 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.