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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Honoring Americas Veterans

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 453982713
AZ · NTEE P20
FY ending 2025-01-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Paula Pedene, Executive Director / CEO ($72,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 16 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 75th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

16 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 16 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$16,774 total compensation of comparable organizations → $181,129 $72,500
$20,04710th
$35,78625th
$55,614Median
$74,90775th
$123,84290th
$72,500This org · 75th
p10$20,047
p25$35,786
p50$55,614
p75$74,907
p90$123,842
$72,500

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 AZ 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
Heart & Seoul Gospel Ministry AZ$308,899 President $52,800 $55,798 2023
Hope Response Inc AZ$303,416 President $18,000 $19,022 2023
Asian Corporate & Entrepreneur AZ$321,788 President $123,376 $130,381 2023
Flagstaff Youth Riders Inc AZ$284,253 Ex Dir Til Nov 2024 $59,583 $61,159 2024
Gila Valley Samaritan Home AZ$337,344 Ciancimino $19,940 $21,072 2023
Owl & Panther AZ$350,522 Managing Director $61,230 $64,706 2023
Page Regional Domestic Violence Service AZ$357,347 President $176,460 $181,129 2024
Helping Hands For Freedom AZ$254,431 Executive Director $60,000 $61,588 2024
Rancho Milagro Foundation AZ$378,646 Executive Dir. $15,873 $16,774 2023
Warriors Code Inc AZ$388,577 Foundation Mgr. $20,933 $22,122 2023
Dsquared Homes For The Homeless AZ$224,732 Director $50,000 $51,323 2024
The Bridge To Hope Inc AZ$222,796 Executive Di $54,000 $55,429 2024
Ericshouse Inc AZ$212,826 Chairman $39,300 $40,340 2024
Rightpath Health Screenings AZ$412,228 President/ceo $99,840 $105,509 2023
Actively Building Child Care Inc AZ$437,313 Director $43,934 $45,096 2024
Nagi Foundation Inc AZ$443,084 Executive Dir. $111,000 $117,302 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AZ cost of living and 2025 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 AZ 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 default75th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)75th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted75th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted75th

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 (Paula Pedene) 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 16 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (P20) + AZ + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $72,500 is reasonable (approximately the 75th 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.