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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Mustard Seed Project

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 562001800
NC · NTEE I21
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of David Walls, Executive Director / CEO ($32,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 49 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 14th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: David Walls — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

49 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 49 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$12,671 total compensation of comparable organizations → $324,082 $32,000
$27,17510th
$51,62325th
$71,832Median
$90,64075th
$103,87690th
$32,000This org · 14th
p10$27,175
p25$51,623
p50$71,832
p75$90,640
p90$103,876
$32,000

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 NC 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
Court Appointed Special Advocates CA$449,269 Executive Director $76,387 $65,722 2023
Three Sisters Gardens NV$442,200 Ceo $104,000 $100,891 2024
Police And Kids Foundation Inc FL$427,255 President $90,000 $84,243 2023
Calvary Community Outreach Network MO$472,490 Executive Director/ceo $26,601 $27,267 2024
Urbanpromise Honduras Inc TN$424,978 Executive Director $76,563 $80,187 2023
The Bridge Ministry Center MI$424,808 Executive Di $87,829 $90,327 2023
Brother Carl Hardrick Institute For CT$473,644 President $103,968 $94,343 2024
Atwood Elder Housing Inc MA$416,558 President/treasurer $14,570 $12,671 2024
East Baton Rouge Truancy LA$483,761 Executive Di $89,800 $95,699 2024
New Light Community Resource Foundation SC$489,433 Executive Director $18,500 $18,679 2024
Books Over Balls IL$405,059 Chief Executive Office $59,020 $57,814 2023
Tri-agency Intervention Inc KS$494,131 Executive Director $89,273 $96,097 2023
Unmask Youth Program PA$402,893 Founder/board Member $100,000 $99,364 2023
Restorative Justice Partners Inc CA$399,233 Executive Director $85,365 $69,501 2025
Peacemaker Resources MN$395,842 Executive Di $45,446 $44,743 2023
Asservo Project Inc PA$393,666 Chairman Exec Dir $120,000 $115,815 2024
Dupage County Area Project Inc IL$508,763 Executive Director $79,982 $76,100 2024
Collective Climb PA$388,511 Executive Director $69,713 $67,282 2024
Save Our Youth CA$510,572 Executive Director $94,507 $81,312 2023
Wilmington Youth Rowing Association DE$383,901 Executive Director $34,842 $33,017 2024
Childrens Rescue Center Inc OH$381,142 Co-president $37,604 $39,685 2023
Saveone TN$379,989 President $92,431 $94,030 2024
Reimagine Justice Illinois IL$378,213 Co-executive Director $95,264 $90,640 2024
Hollywood Police Activities League CA$522,167 Executive Di $117,381 $98,095 2024
Children's Advocacy Center Of The First TN$531,335 Executive Director $57,060 $56,551 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NC 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 NC 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 default14th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)14th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted16th
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 (David Walls) 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 49 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (I21), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $32,000 is reasonable (approximately the 14th 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.