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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Roots & Dreams And Mustard Seeds Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 823012805
MA · NTEE S99
FY ending 2024-08-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Michael Hitchcock, Executive Director / CEO ($44,044) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 53 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 40th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Michael Hitchcock — reported title “President, Co-Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

53 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 53 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,414 total compensation of comparable organizations → $287,478 $44,044
$7,23410th
$22,73825th
$54,192Median
$82,23375th
$113,18690th
$44,044This org · 40th
p10$7,234
p25$22,738
p50$54,192
p75$82,233
p90$113,186
$44,044

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 MA 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
Glover Park Alliance DC$227,283 Executive Director $92,942 $90,761 2024
Plaza Terrace Mutual Housing CT$235,418 Executive Director $31,395 $33,725 2023
The Freedom Foundation Of Minnesota MN$225,040 Ceo, Secretary, Treasurer $110,000 $124,528 2023
The Hydrous CA$238,045 Ceo $84,000 $80,718 2024
Vermont Council Of Special Education VT$223,586 Executive Dir. $26,000 $28,372 2025
International Foundation For Cultural CO$223,551 First Vp $6,500 $6,936 2024
Friends Inc AL$219,008 Executive Director $57,500 $71,169 2023
Community Alliance For Jewish-affiliated Cemeteries Inc NY$249,041 Ceo $141,282 $142,070 2024
Westside Rising IL$212,744 Executive Dir. $44,872 $49,092 2024
Indiana Community Development IN$250,264 Treasurer - Director $70,249 $82,440 2024
Habitat For Neighborhood Business MO$209,384 Executive Director $26,250 $30,940 2024
Takotna Community Association AK$208,523 Secretary $10,500 $11,171 2024
Detroit Greenways Coalition MI$207,038 Executive Director $50,000 $59,128 2023
Buffalo Reuse Inc NY$207,027 President $8,378 $8,425 2024
Integrative Development Initiative CA$205,875 2023 Cfo & Food Cycle Collective Co-coordinator $2,581 $2,553 2023
Kulaiwi Land Trust HI$205,010 Interim Executive Director-ceo $18,750 $19,233 2023
Built2last Innovations Lab Inc NC$203,953 Executive Director $119,439 $141,392 2023
Societa Mutuo Socorso Enrico Caruso In Manville Ri RI$202,411 Treasurer $6,300 $6,921 2023
Citizens4community OR$200,555 Executive Director $78,056 $80,665 2024
Harvard Townhouse Inc NE$262,230 Executive Director $21,014 $25,152 2024
Venture Carolina SC$199,622 Executive Director $5,400 $6,269 2024
Foundation For Community Driven Innovation Inc FL$264,104 Executive Director $21,750 $22,738 2024
Sustainable Opportunity Development OH$265,636 Executive Di $95,577 $115,979 2023
Rebuilding Together Central Alabama AL$195,730 Executive Director $65,000 $78,144 2024
Leadmo MO$194,877 Executive Director $39,229 $46,237 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MA 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 MA 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 default40th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)42nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted43rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted34th

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 (Michael Hitchcock) 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 53 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $44,044 is reasonable (approximately the 40th 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.