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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

First Step Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 463268143
FL · NTEE E50
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Michael Barwis, Executive Director / CEO ($7,732) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 235 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 11th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

235 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 235 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$99 total compensation of comparable organizations → $1,786,639 $7,732
$6,19310th
$17,24325th
$35,005Median
$61,66975th
$102,08390th
$7,732This org · 11th
p10$6,193
p25$17,243
p50$35,005
p75$61,669
p90$102,083
$7,732

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 FL 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
Colorado Dental Association Foundation CO$92,158 President $19,332 $19,224 2025
Memorial Hospital Foundation Inc GA$91,427 Ceo/presiden $39,076 $41,824 2024
The Whole Person Foundation MO$92,427 Ceo/cfo (Thru 04/2024) $27,851 $31,401 2024
Advocates For The Disabled NY$91,008 Executive Director $38,557 $37,088 2024
Tennessee Health Information NC$92,894 Exec Directo $23,918 $27,084 2023
Spirits For Smiles Inc IN$93,421 Director, Patient Coordinator $666 $770 2023
South Carolina Witness Project SC$93,430 President Ceo $37,543 $40,617 2025
Wyoming County Community Health Fou PA$90,142 Executive Director $44,929 $47,694 2024
Hunters Point Biomonitoring Foundation Inc CA$93,516 Ceo Pi Secretary $36,500 $33,550 2024
Schc Wbc Prop Corp CA$93,588 Chief Executive Officer $72,331 $68,449 2023
Bayhealth Cancer Institute DE$89,939 Interim President $69,078 $72,000 2024
Pivotal Health & Wellness Inc KS$89,848 President $58,500 $69,262 2023
Rivers Health Foundation WV$93,937 President & Ceo Mhn $168,499 $194,205 2024
Lakeshore Medical Training Program Inc IN$89,600 Program Director $10,605 $11,905 2024
The Gaston & Porter Health DC$94,108 President $542 $506 2024
Turning Point Pregnancy Center Inc AL$88,661 Executive Director $24,500 $28,175 2024
Kex Kids Fund OR$88,534 Executive Director & Director $6,000 $5,931 2024
Healthways CA$95,133 Executive Director $37,426 $36,869 2022
Christian H Buhl Legacy Trust PA$95,171 Executive Director & Cfo $23,315 $24,750 2024
Hospicare Foundation Inc NY$88,434 Executive Director $29,144 $28,033 2024
Patty Brisben Foundation For Women's Sexual Health OH$95,252 Executive Director $34,375 $38,756 2024
St Marys Community Care Professionals NY$88,338 President & Ceo $84,043 $80,841 2024
Acacia Network Inc NY$88,323 President $70,634 $69,949 2023
Southcoast Health Ambassadors Inc MA$95,485 Trustee $3,997 $3,823 2024
Pinnacle Asset Holdings Inc LA$88,094 President $20,115 $23,578 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to FL 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 FL 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 default11th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)12th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted17th

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 (Michael Barwis) 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 235 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (E), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $7,732 is reasonable (approximately the 11th 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.