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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Community Mediation Services

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 581697179
TN · NTEE I51Z
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Cindy Helton, Executive Director / CEO ($47,625) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 69 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 67th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Cindy Helton — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

69 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 69 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$3,750 total compensation of comparable organizations → $178,316 $47,625
$7,29210th
$14,50625th
$38,263Median
$55,55275th
$91,47990th
$47,625This org · 67th
p10$7,292
p25$14,506
p50$38,263
p75$55,552
p90$91,479
$47,625

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 TN 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
Wisconsin Foundation WI$97,733 Executive Di $38,489 $39,371 2023
Foundation Of The Monroe County Bar NY$97,946 Executive Director - Resigned Dec 2024 $17,320 $14,506 2025
Community Health & Safety AL$95,080 Executive Di $18,822 $19,345 2024
Stop Child Predators Coalition DC$95,000 President $42,000 $35,063 2024
The Foundation In Support Of The MI$99,288 President $20,185 $19,821 2024
101 Enterprises Foundation CA$94,353 Cfo $30,000 $24,010 2025
Clause 40 Foundation DC$99,688 President/ceo $5,250 $4,512 2023
Bayberry Courts Inc RI$100,704 President $52,490 $49,297 2023
Finequity Inc NY$100,802 Executive Director $116,040 $99,756 2024
Minnesota Freedom Fund Action MN$101,127 Director Programs Operatio $12,406 $11,662 2024
Stop Handgun Violence Inc MA$92,825 Executive Director $52,903 $44,061 2025
Citizens For Community Justice Inc IN$103,218 Executive Director $50,000 $50,163 2024
The Florida Pdmp Foundation Inc FL$90,382 Executive Director $68,000 $59,206 2025
Racine Neighborhood Watch Inc WI$89,800 Executive Director Thru 6/20/23 $46,452 $47,516 2023
Apoyo Legal Al Emprendimiento Comunitario Inc PR$106,009 Director $32,000 $32,945 2023
Pathways For Change Inc FL$106,135 Executive Director $22,237 $19,874 2024
Exoneration Initiative NY$87,791 Founder $100,000 $88,506 2023
Go Reentry Specialists Inc PA$87,700 Executive Di $47,736 $45,288 2024
Nevada Peace Officer Association NV$107,204 President $9,600 $9,155 2024
Ohio Crime Prevention Association OH$86,122 President $17,275 $17,407 2024
Louisiana Fraternal Order Of Police LA$86,060 Treasurer $7,800 $8,171 2024
Forensic Sciences Foundation Inc CO$85,827 Executive Director $13,601 $12,774 2023
Clarinda Youth Corporation IA$108,216 President $3,600 $3,750 2024
Environmental And Animal Defense CO$84,262 Executive Director $41,167 $38,663 2023
Easterseals Housing Solutions Inc MT$111,085 President/ce $16,543 $16,965 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TN 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 TN 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 default67th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)61st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted72nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted52nd

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 (Cindy Helton) 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 69 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (I), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $47,625 is reasonable (approximately the 67th 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.