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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Standing Strong Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 465063952
MD · NTEE F20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Michelle D Morgan, Executive Director / CEO ($1,950) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 122 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 1st percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Michelle D Morgan — reported title “CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

122 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 122 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $151,644 $1,950
$16,10710th
$26,64025th
$46,709Median
$68,25075th
$87,66990th
$1,950This org · 1st
p10$16,107
p25$26,640
p50$46,709
p75$68,250
p90$87,669
$1,950

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 MD 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
A Way Forward Inc CO$286,064 Executive Dir. $40,334 $40,182 2024
Abw Inc OH$287,580 Ceo $32,936 $36,243 2024
Mountain High Recovery Center CA$288,063 Executive Dir. $39,236 $35,199 2024
Trinity Counseling Center Of Florida Inc FL$281,074 Ceo $17,177 $16,765 2024
Rose Garden Recovery Community Inc IN$279,654 Executive Dir. $28,408 $31,124 2024
Freedom Center MS$279,581 Executive Di $13,000 $15,042 2024
Anything Helps MN$294,114 Executive Director $16,808 $17,255 2024
Clay Student Leadership Inc TX$279,317 President $15,833 $16,455 2024
Decatur Prevention Initiative Inc GA$295,167 Executive Director $98,998 $106,471 2023
Still Worthy Inc SC$295,655 Co-founder $13,790 $15,388 2023
American Society Of Addiction Medicine WI$277,418 Member $7,245 $7,861 2024
Angels In Flight Recovery Center GA$277,363 President $41,600 $43,457 2024
New Hope Philly Inc PA$296,738 Executive Director $64,971 $67,314 2024
Miami Recovery Project Inc FL$297,774 Executive Di $70,000 $68,320 2024
Simple Living Inc MA$273,430 Executive Di $62,400 $58,257 2024
Mississippi Harm Reduction Initiative MS$272,586 Executive Director $39,423 $45,617 2024
Go The Distance OR$301,000 Executive Director $67,061 $66,613 2023
Baltimore Intergroup Council Of Aa MD$271,749 Administrator/special Worker $39,577 $39,577 2023
Mstepp Inc AZ$301,816 Program Director $91,678 $89,240 2025
Nar-anon Family Group Headquarters Inc CA$271,647 Executive Director $50,170 $45,009 2024
Arise Addiction Recovery Inc ME$302,800 President $55,120 $57,344 2024
Raven Cares Inc KY$269,768 President $42,308 $48,619 2023
Greater Spokane Substance Abuse Council WA$303,768 Executive Director $79,132 $75,780 2023
Nashville Peacemakers TN$268,074 Ceo $64,260 $70,176 2024
New Dawn Recovery Services Inc WI$266,649 Executive Di $75,000 $83,781 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MD 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 MD 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 default1st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)1st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted2nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted1st

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 (Michelle D Morgan) 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 122 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (F20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $1,950 is reasonable (approximately the 1st 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.