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

Stepping Stones Ministry Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 571098404
SC · NTEE J32
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Anthony Gould, Executive Director / CEO ($40,300) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 482 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 35th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

482 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 482 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$173 total compensation of comparable organizations → $270,349 $40,300
$5,98510th
$22,94325th
$61,790Median
$87,72575th
$123,09490th
$40,300This org · 35th
p10$5,985
p25$22,943
p50$61,790
p75$87,725
p90$123,094
$40,300

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
Port Authority Field Supervisors NJ$442,527 President $3,250 $2,781 2024
Technical Training & Safety ND$442,568 Exec Directo $85,696 $87,822 2025
Southwest Alabama Workforce AL$441,919 Executive Di $199,033 $200,797 2025
New Century Foundation VA$443,191 President $81,424 $77,586 2023
Quality Support Solutions Inc UT$443,211 President $74,883 $75,634 2023
Massachusetts Regional Employment MA$441,223 Executive Director Until 3/23 $178,570 $158,357 2023
Gtia Foundation Inc IL$443,896 Director, President $32,027 $30,181 2024
Lafayette Electrical Joint Apprenticeship & Training Committee IN$444,967 Training Coordinator $70,005 $70,764 2024
American Federation Of Teachers NY$444,984 Co-president $5,590 $4,842 2024
Chaverim Israel Family Services Inc NJ$445,755 President $26,631 $22,792 2024
Salt Lake Police Association UT$445,852 President $18,600 $18,248 2024
Jobs Of Hope Inc CO$446,303 Executive Director $65,849 $62,312 2023
College And Career Plaza NM$446,450 Executive Di $98,747 $99,182 2025
Tools Up Foundation Inc IL$437,844 Executive Di $117,719 $110,934 2024
Carteret County Domestic Violence Program Inc NC$437,802 Executive Director $68,744 $68,087 2024
Building And Construction Trades Council NV$446,827 President $300 $281 2025
The Fountain Of Youth Program IA$447,294 Executive Dir. $68,575 $71,973 2024
Women Offshore Foundation TX$436,995 Executive Director $26,989 $25,878 2024
Logosworks PA$448,075 Ceo $106,648 $104,956 2023
United Plant & Production Workers NY$448,179 Fund Admin $92,072 $82,106 2023
South Lane Maintenance Corporation OR$436,150 Executive Di $72,669 $64,687 2024
Suits For Seniors Inc FL$449,120 Executive Director $84,950 $76,496 2024
Operating Engineers Local 324 MI$434,382 Trustee $75,632 $74,829 2024
Plumbers & Pipefitters Apprenticeship WY$450,707 Training Director $195,160 $200,318 2024
Hopeful Opportunities Presented To FL$433,601 President $74,000 $66,636 2024

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 default35th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)35th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted44th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted30th

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 (Anthony Gould) 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 482 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (J), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $40,300 is reasonable (approximately the 35th 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.