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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

James Valley Apartments Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 466016291
SD · NTEE L20Z
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sarah Steffensen, Executive Director / CEO ($12,113) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 208 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 22nd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Sarah Steffensen — reported title “MANAGER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

208 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 208 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$365 total compensation of comparable organizations → $266,887 $12,113
$6,13610th
$14,88525th
$28,404Median
$49,59975th
$69,99690th
$12,113This org · 22nd
p10$6,136
p25$14,885
p50$28,404
p75$49,599
p90$69,996
$12,113

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 SD 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
Perry S Hall Inc VA$130,741 Secretary $28,094 $24,579 2024
Spf-ster-iv IL$129,997 President/ceo $30,975 $28,408 2023
Helms Housing Inc CT$130,931 Co-president And Ceo $37,301 $31,690 2024
Comunidad Corporation TX$129,675 Exec Dir/pres $108,900 $98,705 2024
Inland Equity Community Land Trust CA$129,385 Executive Director $36,143 $28,279 2024
Southeastern Development Opportunit MS$129,213 Exec Dir $61,072 $61,632 2024
Mercy Properties Washington CO$129,164 President/director $43,633 $37,910 2024
Ford House Inc MN$131,683 Ceo Of Commonbond $21,254 $19,029 2024
Worthington Christian Village OH$128,925 Ceo / Exec Dir $3,360 $3,320 2023
Housing Opportunities Corporation PA$128,887 Executive Director $8,219 $7,427 2024
Pahc Sheridan Apartments Inc CA$128,828 President & Ceo $65,172 $50,992 2024
Eye Of A Needle Foundation Inc CA$133,166 President $24,700 $19,897 2023
The Copley House Inc VT$133,172 Vice Preside $26,702 $23,725 2025
Oxford Trace Apartments Inc TX$127,450 President/ce $18,400 $16,677 2024
Central Alabama Housing Alliance AL$133,836 President $20,643 $20,207 2024
Family Connection SD$133,844 Secretary/ex $50,000 $48,711 2025
Community Homebuyers Inc PA$134,011 Secretary/treasurer $28,234 $25,512 2024
Potomac River Homes Inc MD$126,731 President $20,272 $17,680 2023
Lss Housing Prairieview Inc WI$126,479 President $40,683 $38,498 2024
Peoples Organization For Strategic Excellence Pose Cdc Inc LA$134,543 Executive Director $45,000 $44,898 2024
Hbhci Hud 7 Inc FL$135,759 Vice President $68,495 $56,800 2025
Lss Housing Woodside Inc WI$124,913 President $40,683 $38,498 2024
Keystone Place Housing Corporation MO$124,886 Executive Director $9,171 $8,801 2024
Demarest Farm 2 Inc NJ$124,657 President & Ceo $25,881 $20,938 2024
Ken-crest Housing Pa 2010 Inc PA$123,922 Ceo $29,531 $26,684 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to SD 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 SD 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 default22nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)20th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted80th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted6th

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 (Sarah Steffensen) 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 208 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (L20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $12,113 is reasonable (approximately the 22nd 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.