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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Sam Foundation Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 821811546
AL · NTEE T30
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Julie Smith, Executive Director / CEO ($40,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 174 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 52nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

How comparable organizations were selected

174 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 174 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,017 total compensation of comparable organizations → $155,325 $40,000
$6,84910th
$20,52525th
$36,837Median
$58,24575th
$88,73790th
$40,000This org · 52nd
p10$6,849
p25$20,525
p50$36,837
p75$58,245
p90$88,737
$40,000

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 AL cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateTotal revenueTotal compSource
Gulf Coast Cares IncFL $203,803$22,261 990
American Charitable Trust IncAZ $204,431$2,250 990
Heads Hearts & Hands Of Heartland IncFL $205,501$22,833 990
Anthony F Cordeiro CharitableMA $201,258$5,138 990
Foundation For Dubuque Public SchoolsIA $205,992$34,370 990
Hillsborough Consortium For Technology And Education IncFL $199,659$21,078 990
Tallahassee Action GrantsFL $207,411$34,783 990
De Marchena-huyke FoundationCA $208,537$18,688 990
Million KidsCA $197,798$33,570 990
Muscatine Chamber Of CommerceIA $209,493$3,856 990
Gator Bowl Sports Charities IncFL $196,570$5,796 990
Equality And Inclusion In Hospitality IncCA $196,022$79,929 990
Friends Of Dangberg Home RanchNV $210,976$53,245 990
Pray For GrayND $195,654$44,938 990
Oklahoma Blood Institute FoundationOK $211,405$87,588 990
Long Island Community Chest IncNY $211,429$25,093 990
Main Street Barberton IncOH $211,497$64,543 990
Good Bourbon For A Good CuaseTX $211,739$22,591 990
Lawrence Township Education FoundationNJ $212,194$43,388 990
Lhes FoundationHI $194,744$16,842 990
Coach Sam's Inner Circle FoundationOH $194,583$65,002 990
Fans For The CureNY $194,522$28,476 990
Great Strides Long Island IncNY $212,536$14,052 990
Trulight MinistriesOH $212,911$18,871 990
Congenital Heart Defect CoalitionNJ $193,986$5,795 990

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 AL 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 default52nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)49th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted63rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted36th

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 (Julie Smith) 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 174 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (T30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $40,000 is reasonable (approximately the 52nd 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). 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.