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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Studio Samuel Foundation Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 455248421
NC · NTEE Q30
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Tamara Horton, Executive Director / CEO ($81,343) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 107 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 89th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Tamara Horton — reported title “FOUNDER/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

107 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 107 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$895 total compensation of comparable organizations → $174,907 $81,343
$6,22510th
$19,39625th
$34,113Median
$63,05175th
$81,64990th
$81,343This org · 89th
p10$6,225
p25$19,396
p50$34,113
p75$63,051
p90$81,649
$81,343

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 NC 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
Sakala International ME$232,834 Executive Director Board Member $3,300 $3,106 2024
Hope4burundi TX$228,065 President & Ceo $25,000 $24,203 2023
Connect Ministries WA$227,919 Executive Di $45,432 $38,237 2024
Goodjustice SC$235,444 President $40,500 $40,891 2023
Only A Servant Ministries Inc TX$225,357 Director $69,300 $65,165 2024
Shamsaha Womens Center Corp IN$237,702 Director $930 $922 2024
Dream For Nations Incorporated MD$237,735 President $89,156 $78,355 2024
Building New Hope PA$223,321 Executive Director $33,005 $33,160 2022
Uweza Aid Foundation NY$239,410 Executive Director $49,111 $41,717 2024
Raiz Ministry TX$221,533 Director $4,800 $4,513 2024
Andes-amazon Conservancy AZ$241,355 President $31,250 $28,251 2024
Doyle Jones Ministries Inc TX$220,109 President $88,962 $89,655 2022
Helping Hands Inc NC$219,842 President $946 $895 2025
Ret Americas Inc DC$243,914 V.p. & Managing Director $22,916 $18,904 2024
Street Child Us DC$244,041 Ceo & Chair $17,928 $15,226 2023
Hands Of Grace Guatemala Inc IN$217,944 President $60,000 $59,480 2024
Global Alliance For Africa IL$217,320 Executive Di $4,000 $3,696 2024
Living Hope Ministries In Haiti Inc OH$216,615 Presient $6,770 $6,940 2023
Haiti Reforestation Partnership VA$245,911 Executive Dir. $44,000 $39,937 2024
Equip Mozambique MO$245,928 Executive Director $47,000 $48,178 2023
Hope 4 Women International IA$245,988 President Ceo $14,256 $15,107 2023
The Alta Project WA$215,385 Executive Dir. $30,770 $26,662 2023
Hope For Our Sisters Inc MA$212,996 President And Director $10,000 $9,053 2022
Kizimani OR$250,607 Executive Di $38,220 $33,365 2024
Pinetree Aid CA$211,036 President $24,500 $19,887 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NC 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 NC 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 default89th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)84th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted92nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted86th

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 (Tamara Horton) 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 107 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (Q30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $81,343 is reasonable (approximately the 89th 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.