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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Heartland Casa

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 470793337
NE · NTEE I72
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Erin Howe, Executive Director / CEO ($47,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 53 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 21st percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Erin Howe — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

53 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 53 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$23,536 total compensation of comparable organizations → $162,344 $47,000
$36,05010th
$49,65725th
$58,493Median
$71,34475th
$84,41690th
$47,000This org · 21st
p10$36,050
p25$49,657
p50$58,493
p75$71,344
p90$84,416
$47,000

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 NE 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
Childrens Advocacy Center Of Guernsey County OH$222,174 Director $50,130 $52,168 2023
Bennington County Association Against VT$221,558 Executive Dir. $59,660 $55,831 2025
Connecticut Center For Nonviolence CT$223,380 Executive Dir. $69,998 $64,485 2023
Casa Of Hill County Texas TX$225,648 Exec Dir 6.2 $36,300 $35,677 2023
Casa Of Houston County Inc GA$218,780 Executive Di $79,590 $78,629 2023
Front Range Casa Gal Inc MT$230,891 Executive Director $69,351 $71,344 2024
Warren Washington Care Center NY$232,516 Executive Dir. $57,081 $49,225 2024
The Vermont Children's Alliance VT$232,894 Executive Director $65,944 $63,345 2024
Bold Solutions WA$210,452 Director $41,387 $37,900 2022
Patchworks House Inc OH$236,972 Executive Di $50,000 $50,540 2024
Friends Of Western Pa Cares For Kids Inc PA$207,155 Executive Director $48,377 $47,401 2023
Lasalle County Childrens Advocacy Center IL$206,603 Director $57,100 $55,156 2023
Casa Of The 5th Judicial District WY$206,544 Executive Director $71,809 $71,493 2025
Sarah's Friends Inc OH$241,243 Executive Di $51,010 $53,084 2023
Tulare County Child Protection CA$202,938 Executive Dir. $82,710 $70,173 2023
Iowa Chapter Of Children's Advocacy Centers IA$197,506 Executive Director $31,250 $31,813 2025
Family & Children's Council IA$247,648 Executive Director $78,000 $83,914 2023
First Judicial District Casa-gal Program MT$248,664 Executive Director $54,683 $56,254 2024
Hero House The Childrens Advocacy GA$248,817 Executive Direc $65,030 $62,402 2024
Kymari House Inc TN$192,591 Exec Director $45,000 $45,142 2024
Safe Harbor A Children's Justice Center WY$256,887 Executive Director $48,591 $49,657 2024
Family Nurturing Center Of Florida FL$259,042 Executive Di $87,307 $80,586 2023
Pulaski County Friends Of Casa Inc AR$185,175 Executive Dir. $61,407 $65,874 2024
Windham County Safe Place Child Advocacy VT$259,817 Executive Director And Int $76,927 $73,894 2024
Southeast Nebraska Casa NE$185,002 Executive Director $50,000 $52,839 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NE 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 NE 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 default21st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)19th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted21st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted19th

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 (Erin Howe) 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 53 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (I72), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $47,000 is reasonable (approximately the 21st 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.