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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Lending Hearts

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 451783751
PA · NTEE E86
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Vasso Paliouras, Executive Director / CEO ($99,037) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 35 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 94th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

35 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 35 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,627 total compensation of comparable organizations → $125,937 $99,037
$19,10110th
$33,05825th
$45,442Median
$57,99775th
$77,84790th
$99,037This org · 94th
p10$19,101
p25$33,058
p50$45,442
p75$57,997
p90$77,847
$99,037

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 PA 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
Camelot Center OH$170,877 Program Director $44,775 $47,555 2024
Magical Moments Foundation Inc OH$160,392 Exec Dir/treasurer $22,500 $23,897 2024
Hitting Cancer Below The Belt Inc VA$175,965 Executive Director $45,000 $44,857 2023
Healing Buddies Inc CO$156,022 Executive Di $47,260 $45,442 2024
Branch Brooks Childrens Foundation NY$152,865 President $38,424 $34,817 2024
A Room To Heal NY$149,622 Executive Director $42,606 $38,607 2024
The Danielle House Inc NY$192,634 Executive Di $36,725 $34,261 2023
Friends Of Jack Foundation Inc MA$138,952 Secretary $100,000 $90,111 2024
The Jared Box Project PA$200,982 Executive Di $20,975 $20,975 2024
Chris Hope Foundation TN$130,187 President $5,500 $5,797 2024
Camp Millennium OR$207,339 Camp Director $61,379 $57,158 2024
Random Acts Of Flowers TN$127,488 Executive Director $28,558 $30,991 2023
Fountain Of Kindness Inc NY$209,435 President $60,000 $54,368 2024
Beyond Pink Spokane Inc WA$123,107 Executive Di $65,533 $58,835 2024
Yamhill Valley Community Doulas Inc OR$212,123 President $40,286 $38,624 2023
Dan's House Of Hope Inc TX$212,670 President $11,000 $11,034 2024
Jacobs House Inc CA$215,293 Executive Dir. $65,000 $56,283 2024
Rusfond Usa Inc NY$215,374 Pres/treas/dir $134,996 $125,937 2023
Apache Creek Deaf And Youth Ranch NM$215,514 President $28,688 $31,855 2023
American Patriotic Services Inc FL$118,718 Managing Director $33,735 $31,779 2024
Little Smiles (Pa) Inc PA$217,077 Exec. Director & Co-founder $45,600 $45,600 2024
Andrews Air Force Base Fisher House Inc MD$116,703 Director $75,495 $75,854 2022
Healing Heart Project FL$220,794 Executive Director $45,000 $43,643 2023
Spreading Sunshine Inc TN$220,901 Executive Di $50,400 $54,694 2023
The Superhero Project OH$222,566 Staff Representative $50,000 $54,673 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to PA 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 PA 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 default94th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)94th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted94th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted94th

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 (Vasso Paliouras) 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 35 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (E86), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $99,037 is reasonable (approximately the 94th 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.