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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Walking Strong Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 471648097
CA · NTEE G70
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Valerie Pappas Llauro, Executive Director / CEO ($24,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 336 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 13th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

How comparable organizations were selected

336 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 336 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$869 total compensation of comparable organizations → $386,935 $24,000
$18,84310th
$39,17425th
$72,161Median
$95,18075th
$125,07290th
$24,000This org · 13th
p10$18,843
p25$39,174
p50$72,161
p75$95,180
p90$125,072
$24,000

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 CA cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateTotal revenueTotal compSource
Check For A LumpAZ $279,490$72,307 990
Texas Central Hemophilia Association IncTX $279,501$84,082 990
Global Nerve FoundationGA $278,600$163,020 990
Light Collective IncOR $278,002$94,867 990
Nightingales HarvestOH $280,595$18,184 990
Wylder Nation FoundationAZ $277,661$91,273 990
The Barry L Joyce Cancer Support Fund IncNC $277,491$112,136 990
Spina Bifida Association Of GreaterMA $276,967$78,123 990
Community Center For The BlindCA $276,926$77,469 990
The Whole Spectrum Autism FoundationNJ $276,577$8,934 990
Gina Quesenberry Breast CancerID $275,475$92,396 990
Autism EmpowermentWA $283,060$1,921 990
Visual Compassion IncTX $283,424$156,389 990
Childrens Oncology Camping Association IntlAL $274,478$64,403 990
Cancer Navigators IncGA $284,637$86,761 990
Down Syndrome Association OfVA $273,601$54,074 990
Fellows Forum IncFL $285,404$2,240 990
The Isaac FoundationWA $285,953$50,265 990
5 Under 40 Foundation CorpNY $271,985$49,725 990
Joe Beretta FoundationTN $271,831$75,948 990
Ovarcome Non-profit IncTX $286,812$95,571 990
The Nightbirde FoundationOH $286,921$131,139 990
Stroke Awareness FoundationCA $287,276$137,105 990
Lymphangiomatosis & Gorhams Disease Alliance IncFL $271,042$39,089 990
Tatton Brown Rahman Syndrome Community IncNY $270,669$82,598 990

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 CA 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 default13th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)16th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted18th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted12th

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 (Valerie Pappas Llauro) 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 336 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (G), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $24,000 is reasonable (approximately the 13th 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). 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.