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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Training Grounds Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 421652107
DC · NTEE J22
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Thomas Brown, Executive Director / CEO ($95,306) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 78 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 67th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

78 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 78 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$570 total compensation of comparable organizations → $231,867 $95,306
$24,48710th
$52,33925th
$77,329Median
$102,96075th
$136,40590th
$95,306This org · 67th
p10$24,487
p25$52,339
p50$77,329
p75$102,960
p90$136,405
$95,306

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 DC 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
Second Chance Center Of Hope OH$335,700 Director $43,900 $51,466 2024
Laborers Agc Apprenticeship Training & WA$337,413 Training Director $77,707 $77,007 2024
Midlands Mechanical Apprentice Coal SC$332,386 President $14,400 $16,628 2024
Western Pennsylvania Apprenticeship PA$340,147 Director $73,232 $80,834 2024
Automotive Mentoring Group Inc IL$340,495 President $91,987 $103,055 2023
Tech Frederick Inc MD$341,979 Executive Director $114,025 $117,996 2024
Oakwood Arts Inc VA$342,805 Executive Director $54,550 $58,299 2024
Tech Exposure & Access CA$326,971 President $62,374 $59,617 2024
Sheet Metal Workers' Local 15 Apprentice FL$326,390 Former Chairman $43,283 $43,847 2025
Local 470 Apprenticeship Fund SC$346,177 Training Director/trustee $61,473 $70,985 2024
Youths Unleashed Corp FL$347,605 Vice President $45,000 $46,792 2024
Sheet Metal Contracting Industry PA$348,144 Trustee $76,513 $84,456 2024
Menzfit PA$320,437 60executive Director $28,000 $31,819 2023
Bricklayers Local 1 Md Va & Dc MD$351,202 Vice Chairman $39,290 $40,658 2024
Roofers Local 44 Joint Apprenticeship Fund OH$318,648 Administrator $71,270 $83,553 2024
Bbl Ministries Inc CA$316,128 President $128,808 $123,113 2024
Justice Jobs Of Maryland Inc MD$316,033 Executive Director $62,977 $65,170 2024
Flourish Of Cullman Inc AL$315,179 Executive Di $44,642 $54,959 2023
Bullington Gardens Inc NC$314,727 Director $36,236 $41,442 2024
Michigan Indian Employment And MI$356,915 Executive Director $79,830 $93,898 2023
Be Well Cafe MO$312,101 President $65,000 $76,202 2024
Chicago Center For Arts And Technology IL$359,049 Sr. Dir. Of Edu. Excellence $168,628 $183,498 2024
Qualitative Solutions CA$303,988 President & Ceo $169,343 $161,856 2024
Spotted Eagle Inc WI$295,806 Executive Dir. $66,221 $76,550 2024
Neurodiversity Works CO$292,414 Executive Director $108,973 $115,659 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to DC 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 DC 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 default67th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)76th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted76th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted59th

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 (Thomas Brown) 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 78 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (J22), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $95,306 is reasonable (approximately the 67th 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.