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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Agricultural Development Initiatives

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 621868270
TN · NTEE S31
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Marshall Helm, Executive Director / CEO ($85,800) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 32 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 75th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

32 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 32 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,238 total compensation of comparable organizations → $121,389 $85,800
$17,84210th
$31,68025th
$59,527Median
$85,13075th
$96,60290th
$85,800This org · 75th
p10$17,842
p25$31,680
p50$59,527
p75$85,130
p90$96,602
$85,800

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
Cass Logansport Economic Developmen IN$143,763 Executive Di $80,501 $78,445 2024
Downtown Mebane Development Corporation NC$152,611 Executive Director $38,020 $35,365 2025
Comeunity Cafe TN$156,995 Assistant $19,360 $19,360 2023
Jamestown Regional Entrepreneur Center ND$135,026 Key Employee $75,539 $76,602 2024
Fredericksburg Virginia Main Street Inc VA$160,940 Interim Executive Director $35,000 $32,150 2023
The Valley Center Opportunity Zone NV$161,025 President Ceo $35,000 $32,419 2024
Friends Of Historic Downtown West Branch IA$131,292 Exec Director $57,903 $58,585 2024
Citywide Small Business Development OH$131,178 President $46,542 $45,552 2024
The Lowry Foundation CO$129,882 Interim Ed $24,270 $21,505 2024
Charles Street Development Corp MD$128,646 Executive Director $58,500 $50,539 2024
Cathedral District-jax Inc FL$165,794 Ceo/presiden $93,675 $81,317 2024
The Andre Sayegh Civic Association Inc NJ$125,456 Treasurer $1,500 $1,238 2024
Blackville Community Development SC$122,207 Executive Director $8,170 $8,109 2023
Columbia Valley Housing Association Dba WA$171,894 Executive Dir. $35,538 $30,269 2023
Greater Austin San Antonio Corridor TX$172,168 President $131,325 $121,389 2024
Main Street Fort Pierce Inc FL$172,200 Executive Di $107,307 $90,750 2025
Baltimore Avenue Redevelopment Corporation PA$174,500 President $80,418 $74,105 2024
Go-edc Foundation Inc WI$117,428 President & Ceo $18,313 $17,673 2024
Urban Strategic Solutions CA$116,537 Ceo $120,000 $95,751 2024
Albia Industrial Development IA$178,441 President $107,184 $108,447 2024
Economic Development Alliance Of OH$187,785 Economic Development Direc $4,532 $4,436 2024
Downtown West Allis Inc WI$191,279 Exec Director $57,500 $55,490 2024
Pawtucket Foundation RI$192,116 Executive Di $108,000 $93,228 2025
Grant County Economic Developement Corporation KS$194,562 Executive Director $81,007 $83,257 2023
Visit Fort Wayne Foundation Inc IN$195,656 Executive Di $21,697 $21,144 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 default75th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)72nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted75th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted59th

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 (Marshall Helm) 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 32 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S31), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $85,800 is reasonable (approximately the 75th 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.