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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

New Consensus

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 823053965
DC · NTEE S20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Zack Exley, Executive Director / CEO ($179,707) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 213 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 100th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Zack Exley — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

213 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 213 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,017 total compensation of comparable organizations → $185,982 $179,707
$16,33810th
$35,71525th
$60,427Median
$84,35775th
$105,17190th
$179,707This org · 100th
p10$16,338
p25$35,715
p50$60,427
p75$84,357
p90$105,171
$179,707

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 DC 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
Three Squares Main Street Jp Inc MA$200,480 Executive Director $75,445 $77,258 2023
Loiter OH$200,696 Cofounder $26,884 $33,778 2022
The Mindful Group Inc WI$200,000 Director $20,000 $23,119 2024
Southeast Fairfax Development Corp VA$201,486 Executive Dir. $116,143 $124,126 2024
Downtown Gadsden Inc AL$201,684 Executive Director $82,885 $102,041 2023
Hammonton Revitalization Corporation NJ$201,722 Director $46,687 $47,502 2023
Pan American Concerned Citizens Action League Inc NJ$202,484 Executive Director $84,618 $83,624 2024
The Community Development Society MO$197,498 Executive Director $84,587 $99,165 2024
Delta Foundation Inc MS$203,948 Chariman & President $37,954 $48,171 2023
The Macatawa Resource Center MI$203,954 Executive Dir. $33,277 $38,018 2024
Friends Of Panthertown Inc NC$204,230 Executive Di $53,869 $63,429 2023
Savannah Waterfront Association GA$204,437 Executive Di $116,600 $133,602 2023
Faith Coalition For The Common IL$196,683 Executive Di $87,917 $95,670 2024
Jeffersonville Main Street Inc IN$196,383 Executive Director $76,135 $88,870 2024
A Greater Good IN$204,813 President $35,366 $42,501 2023
The Camden Collective MN$205,418 Executive Director $60,238 $65,883 2024
Peak Literacy Inc FL$205,439 Executive Director $67,319 $70,000 2024
Centro Nazareno De Compasion Agape Inc MN$195,549 Principal $37,837 $40,316 2025
Chicago Housing Consulting Services Inc IL$195,510 Director $45,067 $49,041 2024
Providence Resilience Partnership Inc RI$206,200 Executive Director $130,000 $137,976 2024
Jacksonville Main Street IL$193,806 Executive Director $36,984 $41,434 2023
Schenectady Greenmarket Inc NY$193,489 Executive Director $29,120 $29,986 2023
Discover Downtown Franklin Inc IN$207,997 Former Executive Director $37,798 $45,423 2023
Jackson Metro Sponsoring Committee-worki MS$208,127 Lead Organizer $110,175 $139,833 2023
Springboard Incubators Inc NY$208,632 President/ceo $10,640 $10,642 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to DC 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 DC 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 default100th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)100th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted100th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted95th

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 (Zack Exley) 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 213 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $179,707 is reasonable (approximately the 100th 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.