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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Easter Seals Southwest Florida

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 650611186
FL · NTEE E500
FY ending 2024-08-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Tom Waters, Executive Director / CEO ($15,453) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 66 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 11th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

66 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 66 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$282 total compensation of comparable organizations → $136,988 $15,453
$15,35710th
$25,38525th
$60,086Median
$73,93775th
$85,22390th
$15,453This org · 11th
p10$15,357
p25$25,385
p50$60,086
p75$73,937
p90$85,223
$15,453

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 FL 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
Windhorse Equine Learning MT$358,139 Executive Director $55,000 $63,110 2024
The Arc Of Whatcom County WA$357,296 Executive Director $63,711 $62,513 2023
Carrusel En La Sebastiana Corp PR$369,010 Executive Director $41,900 $43,138 2023
Salt Lake Harm Reduction Project UT$347,236 Executive Dir. $62,500 $68,092 2024
Hope To Walk Inc VA$376,619 Executive Di $49,718 $51,100 2024
Therapy And Counseling Services PA$346,088 Treasurer/clinical Director $41,769 $44,339 2024
Association Of Occupational And DC$378,399 Executive Director $79,185 $73,968 2024
Therapies For Hope Inc CO$344,783 Executive Di $5,600 $5,884 2023
Equi-kids Therapeutic Riding Program VA$344,773 Executive Director $23,750 $25,132 2023
Arise At Marshall Farms Inc NY$380,033 Ceo $18,310 $18,133 2023
Therapy Dogs International Inc NJ$380,069 President $140,000 $136,988 2023
Voices Of Hope For Aphasia Inc FL$341,264 Executive Director $58,920 $58,920 2024
Leaps And Sounds Pediatric Rehabilitation OH$385,091 Voting Member $66,060 $74,479 2024
Hopelife Regeneration Inc NC$329,601 President $23,088 $26,144 2023
Warrior Ranch Foundation Inc NY$395,902 President $21,650 $20,825 2024
Ahead With Horses Inc CA$327,152 Executive Dir. $64,480 $59,269 2024
Pure Living Recovery And Rehabilitation IL$324,689 Cfo $10,908 $11,415 2024
Community Supported Acupuncture KY$323,981 Executive Director $74,150 $84,801 2024
Vip Neurorehabilitation Center CA$400,040 Executive Di $69,167 $65,455 2023
Spurs Therapeutic Riding Center Inc SD$401,581 Executive Director $53,000 $64,103 2023
Horses With Hope Inc PA$401,660 Executive Director $65,001 $69,001 2024
New Hope Equine Assisted Therapy TX$320,848 Executive Dir. $36,279 $37,635 2025
Two Bear Therapeutic Riding Center Inc MT$317,556 Executive Dir. $55,000 $64,974 2023
Berkeley Acupuncture Project Of Ca CA$316,423 President $54,937 $50,497 2024
Form5 Prosthetics Inc OH$314,173 Founder/ Ceo $55,000 $62,010 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to FL 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 FL 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 default11th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)12th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted95th

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 (Tom Waters) 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 66 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (E50), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $15,453 is reasonable (approximately the 11th 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.