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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Jefferson Street United Merchants

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 621595037
TN · NTEE S20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Christopher Simmons, Executive Director / CEO ($10,600) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 38 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 13th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Christopher Simmons — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

38 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 38 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $112,598 $10,600
$7,94410th
$13,90225th
$29,620Median
$41,99175th
$82,13690th
$10,600This org · 13th
p10$7,944
p25$13,902
p50$29,620
p75$41,991
p90$82,136
$10,600

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
Main Street Lawrenceburg TN$59,050 Executive Director $36,205 $35,166 2024
Aledo Main Street Inc Nfp IL$59,053 Executive Di $46,230 $40,915 2025
Bridge Homes Inc CA$59,215 Vice President & Cfo/director $120,312 $98,835 2023
Trellis Community Development AZ$60,219 Ceo (Thru July 2024) $5,027 $4,468 2024
Personal Affordable Living Inc CO$60,636 Director $15,055 $13,340 2024
Healthy Communities Of Southern CA$62,998 Secretary $18,564 $14,431 2025
Ghf Residential Services ME$54,863 President/ceo $96,584 $89,369 2024
Main Street Elkader IA$64,493 Executive Director $13,565 $13,725 2024
Friends Of Bastrop Main Street Inc LA$65,091 Exec. Director $17,346 $17,649 2024
Pedro Bay Benefits Corporation Inc AK$52,061 Executive Di $38,880 $34,349 2024
Community Growth Foundation CO$67,203 President $23,812 $21,099 2024
Business Resource And Investment Service NY$50,081 Executive Director $134,848 $112,598 2024
Fells Point Main Street Inc MD$68,891 Executive Dir. $13,364 $11,546 2024
Corryville Community Development OH$48,782 Executive Director (Until 3/31/23) $104,977 $105,777 2023
Downtown Branson Betterment Assoc MO$69,440 Executive Di $39,793 $41,740 2022
Madrone Community Development Foundation CA$48,054 President $33,750 $26,930 2024
Athens Housing Ventures Fund Inc GA$70,276 Former Presi $2,210 $2,114 2023
Main Street Manning IA$70,570 Executive Di $11,520 $11,655 2024
Mercy Housing California Family CO$45,517 President $22,009 $19,502 2024
Bridgeport Generation Now Votes CT$72,569 President $43,939 $38,069 2024
Oasis Christian Community Development Co IN$44,206 President And Executive Director $70,577 $68,775 2024
Alpha Alpha Lambda Community Development Inc NJ$74,012 Director $1 $1 2024
Public Facilities For The City Of SC$43,516 President $74,700 $74,139 2023
Cam Foundation CA$76,141 President $40,000 $31,917 2024
Downtown Redevelopment Authority KY$41,329 Executive Di $42,380 $42,074 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 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 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 default13th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)13th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted37th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted8th

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 (Christopher Simmons) 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 38 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $10,600 is reasonable (approximately the 13th 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.