Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Hilton Head Heroes Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 571076391
SC · NTEE T70
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Lindy Russell, Executive Director / CEO ($72,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 34 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 94th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Lindy Russell — reported title “Director”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

34 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 34 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,950 total compensation of comparable organizations → $1,045,743 $72,000
$4,17210th
$14,81925th
$29,687Median
$39,66675th
$61,20290th
$72,000This org · 94th
p10$4,172
p25$14,819
p50$29,687
p75$39,666
p90$61,202
$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 SC 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
Foundation For Health Advancement Inc NJ$103,660 President & Ceo $23,016 $19,190 2025
Steuben County United Way Inc IN$101,399 Executive Director $33,164 $33,524 2024
Bryan County United Way OK$108,589 Executive Director $31,820 $33,586 2024
Jackson County United Givers Fund AL$96,140 Executive Secretary $2,500 $2,589 2024
Sunrise Residential Inc IL$109,508 Residential Man $16,500 $16,008 2023
United Way Of Sullivan County Inc NY$110,127 Chief Professional Officer $36,587 $32,627 2023
Jennings County United Wayinc IN$112,967 Executive Director $52,627 $53,198 2024
Graham Area United Way TX$92,315 Executive Direc $34,711 $33,283 2024
Charitable Foundation Usa FL$115,291 Ceo, Director $15,000 $13,507 2024
Northwoods United Way WI$115,323 Executive Di $18,355 $18,375 2024
Jewish Federation Of Cape Cod Inc MA$87,568 Director $3,258 $2,806 2024
United Way Of Mon Valley PA$121,791 Executive Di $85,414 $81,647 2024
Mercy Foundation Inc IL$122,424 Director; President & Ceo Thr 7/22 $1,077,862 $1,045,743 2023
United Black Fund Inc DC$122,817 President $29,490 $24,806 2024
American Football Coaches Foundation TX$81,069 Executive Director $15,439 $14,422 2025
Kewanee Area United Way IL$124,676 Executive Director $14,560 $14,126 2023
Hector Volunteer Fire Department MN$126,161 Ceo/trustee $2,000 $1,950 2023
Clearfield Area United Way PA$128,599 Executive Dir. $28,390 $27,138 2024
United Way Of South Central Ky Inc KY$76,185 Exec Director $37,463 $38,581 2024
John & Rose Herman Support Foundation MI$75,395 Treasurer $26,189 $25,911 2024
West Bergen Mental Healthcare NJ$74,650 Chief Executive Officer $9,993 $8,552 2024
Lutheran Charities NY$134,779 Chief Executive Officer $81,828 $70,877 2024
The Seltzer Family Foundation NY$135,608 Trustee $69,484 $61,962 2023
United Way Of Obion County TN$69,304 Secretary/exec Dir $18,000 $17,669 2025
United Way Of Scott County Indiana Inc IN$137,748 Executive Director $32,734 $32,236 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to SC 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 SC 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 default94th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)91st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted97th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted71st

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 (Lindy Russell) 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 34 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (T70), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $72,000 is reasonable (approximately the 94th 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.