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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Southernmost Illinois Delta Empowerment Zone Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 371383807
IL · NTEE S32
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Tabatha Smith, Executive Director / CEO ($63,591) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 25 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 44th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

25 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 25 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$21 total compensation of comparable organizations → $223,724 $63,591
$4,75110th
$28,70825th
$78,678Median
$113,94575th
$142,62190th
$63,591This org · 44th
p10$4,751
p25$28,708
p50$78,678
p75$113,945
p90$142,621
$63,591

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 IL 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
The Granary Foundation NE$329,446 Executive Director $17,257 $18,880 2024
Beadle And Spink Enterprise SD$340,295 Executive Di $67,175 $75,410 2024
Iaf Northwest WA$344,164 Lead Organizer $5,205 $4,740 2024
Logan County Economic Development CO$320,715 Executive Director $113,473 $113,945 2023
The Living River Restoration Trust VA$311,836 Executive Director $29,231 $28,708 2024
Griggs-steele Empowerment Zone Inc ND$296,295 President $360 $402 2024
Rei Capital Access Fund Inc OK$292,647 President $42,667 $47,789 2024
Rural Consumer Services Corporation NC$374,114 Ceo/general $212,866 $223,724 2024
Valdese Economic Development Invest NC$288,431 Director $72,711 $78,678 2023
Rural Preservation Company Of Clinton NY$278,985 Executive Dir. $55,105 $50,649 2024
Center For Community Transformation Inc OK$277,565 Secretary-treasurer $4,257 $4,768 2024
Northeast Texas Economic Development TX$389,637 Executive Director $12,920 $13,146 2024
Rural Peoples Platform WA$390,950 Executive Director $36,207 $32,973 2024
Yadkin County Economic Development NC$273,413 President $101,010 $106,162 2024
Rural Services Of Indiana Inc IN$267,542 Director $130,050 $143,621 2023
Texas Rural Communiites Inc TX$421,076 Executive Director $81,617 $83,044 2024
Cadco Foundation Inc WV$239,336 President And Ceo From 10/01/24 $19 $21 2024
South-central Indiana Regional IN$427,663 Executive Di $92,548 $99,273 2024
Indiana Cooperative Development IN$437,011 Executive Di $131,561 $141,121 2024
Chehalis Tribal Loan Fund WA$437,153 Executive Director $127,500 $116,112 2024
Beautiful Downtown Lewiston ID$226,853 Executive Dir. $72,120 $83,637 2022
Community Capital Of Vermont VT$438,273 Executive Di $113,519 $116,222 2024
Great Plains Development Inc KS$469,125 Co-executive Director $84,532 $92,891 2024
Southern Mutual Help Association Inc LA$471,290 President $180,319 $207,931 2023
Lemhi County Economic Development Association Inc ID$493,886 Exec Director $49,921 $55,613 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL 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 IL 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 default44th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)44th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted52nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted28th

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 (Tabatha Smith) 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 25 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S32), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $63,591 is reasonable (approximately the 44th 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.