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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Institute For Financial

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 760707546
ME · NTEE P51
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Rachel Gordon, Executive Director / CEO ($70,660) 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 53rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Rachel Gordon — reported title “EXEC DIR./SE”, 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

$7,883 total compensation of comparable organizations → $278,235 $70,660
$37,01910th
$56,65125th
$68,688Median
$100,69375th
$115,16790th
$70,660This org · 53rd
p10$37,019
p25$56,651
p50$68,688
p75$100,693
p90$115,167
$70,660

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 ME 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
Morning Star Urban Development Inc GA$269,603 Executive Director $66,600 $64,957 2024
The Cares Project Inc NC$296,908 Ceo $81,640 $81,826 2024
Mustard Seed Development Center OH$260,615 Executive Director $45,750 $47,003 2024
Action Payee Services Inc OR$257,009 President $105,571 $95,099 2024
1 Wiser Consumer Education Center Inc TX$306,880 Executive $30,000 $29,109 2024
Butterfly Financial Education NC$253,921 President $63,731 $63,877 2024
The Phebe Foundation OH$308,316 Excutive Director $66,000 $69,810 2023
Streator Area United Way Inc IL$248,135 Executive Dir. $35,467 $34,821 2023
Wings For Widows MN$245,930 Executive Director $60,041 $57,548 2024
Building Bridges Of Northeast Oklahoma Inc OK$242,923 Executive Director $34,216 $36,546 2024
Dominion Financial Management Inc TN$241,301 Executive Director $61,224 $62,424 2024
Project Green MI$323,918 Executive Di $97,280 $100,275 2023
Credit Coalition Inc TX$229,874 Executive Director $105,067 $101,948 2024
Empower Yourself Ltd MA$227,822 President/director $73,375 $63,959 2024
Tsm Services WA$227,369 President $77,800 $67,566 2024
Grace-mar Services Inc NC$224,988 President $40,000 $41,275 2023
Financial Education Associates Inc MA$219,768 Executive Director $96,022 $86,171 2023
Credit Counseling Center PA$346,441 Executive Director $85,360 $82,571 2024
Simplify Inc WI$215,000 Chief Executive Officer $54,500 $56,842 2023
Family Management Financial IA$348,480 Executive Di $89,100 $94,633 2024
American Credit Counseling Institute Inc PA$210,016 President $49,588 $49,385 2023
Marvelous Lifestyles Outreach MI$208,020 President $62,908 $62,984 2024
First Generation Investors NY$358,975 Executive Director $115,521 $104,248 2023
Your Best Life Inc WI$202,327 Codirector $114,666 $119,593 2023
Consumer Education And Training Services WA$359,805 Executive Director $165,000 $147,528 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to ME 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 ME 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 default53rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)47th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted47th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted50th

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 (Rachel Gordon) 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 (P51), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $70,660 is reasonable (approximately the 53rd 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.