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

Community Empowerment Nfp

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 812760427
IL · NTEE Q33
FY ending 2024-08-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sandra Mayes Unger, Executive Director / CEO ($51,360) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 248 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 54th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Sandra Mayes Unger — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (THRU 5/3/2024)”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

248 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 248 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,154 total compensation of comparable organizations → $197,693 $51,360
$10,65610th
$26,12225th
$47,744Median
$68,51675th
$101,94590th
$51,360This org · 54th
p10$10,656
p25$26,122
p50$47,744
p75$68,516
p90$101,945
$51,360

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 IL 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
Gate Of Hope Ministries Intl Inc KY$433,251 Director $57,910 $63,285 2024
Addis Jemari Inc NC$434,018 Executive Di $35,769 $38,704 2023
Carha Inc FL$435,040 Director $30,000 $28,667 2024
Maranatha Childrens Ministries Inc ID$431,429 President $45,200 $48,909 2024
Living Hope International MI$435,851 Child Welfare & Education $144,000 $155,650 2023
The World Our Parish Inc KY$428,779 President $114,564 $125,198 2024
White Hawk Foundation CO$439,145 Executive Di $6,000 $5,852 2024
Bridging The Gap Africa Inc OH$427,996 President $10,000 $10,773 2024
Croatian Relief Services Inc NJ$426,897 President $30,000 $28,050 2023
Mobility Worldwide MO$426,417 Executive Di $13,292 $14,320 2024
Kgsa Foundation CO$440,920 Executive Director $68,455 $68,739 2023
The Christina Noble Foundation Of FL$443,477 Board Member $57,000 $54,467 2024
International Center For Advocates Against Discrimination Inc NY$420,329 Co-founder & Legal Innovator $60,000 $56,777 2023
Upstream International Inc TX$449,415 President $104,630 $106,460 2024
Giving To Extremes VA$417,228 President $50,000 $49,106 2024
Hands Of Mercy Ministries CO$416,864 Founder $42,000 $40,964 2024
Project Lucas Inc VA$416,713 Executive Di $60,000 $60,668 2023
Franciscan Works IL$451,416 Executive Director $53,385 $53,385 2024
Equalhealth Inc MA$415,758 Director $45,600 $41,681 2024
Rising Worldwide CA$451,651 Ceo $81,153 $73,385 2023
Hearts Of Joy International Corp NJ$414,996 Executive Dir. $81,500 $74,016 2024
Hearts2honduras Inc TN$454,047 Vice President Of Operations $45,800 $50,415 2023
Phyllis Sortor Schools For Afr WA$411,482 Director $6,497 $5,917 2024
Dignity Period MO$410,818 Executive Director $140,675 $151,555 2024
Braveheart Ministries Inc TX$456,807 President $135,865 $138,241 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL 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 IL 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 default54th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)56th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted57th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted52nd

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 (Sandra Mayes Unger) 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 248 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (Q33), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $51,360 is reasonable (approximately the 54th 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.