Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Ross Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 811269156
IN · NTEE O50
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Derris Ross, Executive Director / CEO ($24,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 487 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 14th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Derris Ross — reported title “FOUNDER, CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

487 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 487 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$168 total compensation of comparable organizations → $192,231 $24,000
$17,22510th
$37,60225th
$60,563Median
$78,69575th
$95,94490th
$24,000This org · 14th
p10$17,225
p25$37,602
p50$60,563
p75$78,695
p90$95,944
$24,000

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 IN 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
Z Girls Foundation WA$409,026 Executive Director $90,881 $77,157 2023
Aliquippa Impact Inc PA$408,510 Executive Director $58,118 $53,382 2024
Momentum Alliance OR$409,415 Coexecutive $97,406 $83,316 2024
Empower 7 Inc TX$408,060 Presidentfounder $36,000 $33,168 2024
Art Resource Collaborative For Kids MA$408,006 Executive Director $35,750 $29,589 2024
Djs Training Facility Inc VI$407,175 Director $37,735 $37,735 2023
Success Through Academics And Role CA$410,603 President $46,240 $36,776 2024
Active City Inc CT$410,753 Executive Dir. $34,667 $30,823 2023
Midway's Opportunity House NC$405,973 Executive Director $59,500 $58,299 2023
Urban Youth Conservation MN$412,066 Executive Director $143,060 $130,201 2024
Our Bright Future Inc MA$405,474 President $65,160 $55,525 2023
Lifequest Usa Inc NM$412,433 President & Ceo $50,000 $49,533 2024
International Society For GA$412,762 Executive Director $70,583 $65,368 2024
Firm Foundations Romania CA$413,062 Ceo $58,520 $47,918 2023
Alpha Soccer Academy SC$413,324 Director $53,700 $51,599 2024
Reading Legacies CA$414,168 President & $72,135 $59,066 2023
Pass It On Inc MD$402,529 Executive Director $19,000 $16,844 2023
James B Washington Sports & Education Inc FL$401,478 Executive Director $33,490 $29,834 2023
Every Monday Matters Inc CA$416,604 Chairman/ceo $66,000 $52,492 2024
Tbey Arts Center Inc WI$417,112 Executive Director $92,846 $89,310 2024
Texas Tranquility Estates TX$417,506 President $30,750 $29,168 2023
Northwest Indiana Catholic IN$398,662 Executive Director $56,264 $56,264 2023
Athletic Factory Inc MI$397,563 Executive Di $83,500 $79,382 2024
Clark County Latino Youth Conference WA$397,545 Executive Director $23,019 $18,983 2024
Rejoice Project Inc GA$394,763 President $20,000 $18,522 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IN 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 IN 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 default14th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)13th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted15th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted14th

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 (Derris Ross) 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 487 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (O50), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $24,000 is reasonable (approximately the 14th 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.