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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Heart Of The Outdoors

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 562565258
OH · NTEE X99
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Ben Steiger, Executive Director / CEO ($72,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 286 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 74th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

286 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 286 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$474 total compensation of comparable organizations → $197,019 $72,000
$14,41810th
$29,09225th
$48,501Median
$73,24075th
$95,15590th
$72,000This org · 74th
p10$14,418
p25$29,092
p50$48,501
p75$73,240
p90$95,155
$72,000

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 OH 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
Synchronicity Foundation Inc VA$332,071 President $10,058 $8,906 2024
Niswa Association Inc CA$328,005 Ceo $40,000 $31,675 2024
Wheat Mission In Atlanta Inc GA$327,186 President $42,000 $39,872 2023
Red Letter Christians PA$333,732 Board Member $38,451 $36,203 2023
Resolute MN$333,892 President $170,998 $154,952 2024
Dannie Hood Ministries Inc CO$326,632 President $52,883 $46,503 2024
Life Balance Institute CA$326,590 President $41,589 $32,934 2024
Fischer Ministries Inc OK$326,545 Executive Director $133,800 $135,112 2024
Word Of Messiah Ministries Inc NC$334,577 President $140,547 $133,178 2024
Lives Worth Saving CA$334,760 Senior Pasto $31,000 $24,549 2024
New Hope Correctional Ministry MA$334,774 Exec Directo $72,509 $59,754 2024
The Layne WA$335,146 Foundation Mgr. $73,250 $60,142 2024
Laughter For All Inc CA$325,275 Executive Dir. $32,841 $26,774 2023
Matthew Fox Legacy Project CA$335,723 Treasurer $39,000 $30,883 2024
Challenge Golf Association TN$335,777 President $82,500 $79,527 2024
Steeple To People Ministries Inc PA$323,922 Youth Center $25,934 $23,717 2024
Overcomers Mission Schools PA$337,129 Director & C $22,700 $20,760 2024
Lightshine International Ministries PA$323,275 Vice Chair $26,236 $24,702 2023
Dream Center Springfield Inc Nfp IL$322,970 Executive Director $15,385 $14,281 2023
Awe Star Ministries Inc OK$337,760 Sec'y/treasurer $24,668 $25,646 2023
The Russian Orthodox Church Of The NY$338,127 Coo $12,700 $10,835 2023
Phillip's Love Bears Inc NC$321,900 President $50,000 $47,379 2024
Kompass Ministries PA$321,663 Administrator $75,000 $68,589 2024
Relational Tithe Inc CA$340,271 President/co-founder $101,000 $82,343 2023
Cornerstone Marriage And Family Life Ministries TX$319,894 President $128,496 $117,875 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to OH cost of living and 2023 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 OH 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 default74th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)68th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted79th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted70th

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 (Ben Steiger) 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 286 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (X99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $72,000 is reasonable (approximately the 74th 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.