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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Heartland Initiative Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 471138215
IN · NTEE Q01
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 13, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Samuel Jones, Executive Director / CEO ($89,850) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 685 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 79th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Samuel Jones — reported title “President”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

685 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 685 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$635 total compensation of comparable organizations → $346,561 $89,850
$14,21910th
$31,02925th
$55,607Median
$85,37075th
$118,25590th
$89,850This org · 79th
p10$14,219
p25$31,029
p50$55,607
p75$85,370
p90$118,255
$89,850

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 IN 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
Cispes Education Fund DC$472,949 President $44,616 $38,223 2023
Every Nation Education Inc NC$473,249 Ceo $12,360 $12,110 2024
People Of Peru Project WA$472,758 Chairman $67,143 $57,004 2024
Global Interdependence Center PA$472,061 Executive Di $120,000 $113,477 2024
Lanna Foundation CA$471,922 Director $31,534 $25,155 2025
The G-24 Liaison Office DC$474,405 Director $231,941 $193,005 2024
Daybreak Development Corporation GA$474,885 President $21,900 $21,498 2023
Walk In The Light International WA$475,048 Executive Director $36,000 $30,564 2024
Hosean International Ministries Inc AR$475,134 President $48,000 $52,674 2023
Doyukai Fund For Harvard Inc MA$470,726 Treasurer, Director & Clerk $64,275 $56,389 2023
Cair Michigan Inc MI$470,606 Executive Officer $89,539 $87,638 2024
The Chain Collaborative Inc PA$475,641 Executive Dir. $36,400 $35,438 2023
Women In International Security DC$476,256 Executive Director $136,500 $116,941 2023
Hands Of Freedom MN$476,698 President $30,000 $28,110 2024
Alliance Care Now VA$476,844 Founder Ceo $138,462 $126,775 2024
Nazdeek Inc NY$468,934 Sec./co-founder $10,000 $8,569 2024
Utah Friends Of Amar International UT$468,483 Executive Director And Treasurer $30,000 $29,116 2024
The Association Of Professional Schools DC$477,720 Executive Dir. $76,000 $61,612 2025
Honduras Compassion Partners Inc MD$477,734 Secretary $32,077 $28,437 2024
Partners For Andean Community Health Inc CT$477,950 Executive Director $14,400 $13,181 2023
El Enjambre Colectivo Inc PR$478,264 Founder $28,250 $28,250 2024
Gap Missions Ministries Inc GA$478,813 Director Missionary $57,638 $56,579 2023
Ministry Builders Inc TX$478,932 President/director $44,778 $42,475 2024
Raising A Voice TN$466,714 Director Of Staff Discipleship $43,790 $43,648 2024
Freedom Research Foundation DC$479,460 Ceo/president $115,000 $98,522 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IN 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 IN 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 default79th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)73rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted81st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted77th

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 (Samuel Jones) 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 13, 2026, comparing compensation against 685 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (Q), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $89,850 is reasonable (approximately the 79th 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 13, 2026.