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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Shining Light Community Outreach Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 830481915
VA · NTEE O50
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Melissa O'keefe, Executive Director / CEO ($36,679) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 490 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 20th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Melissa O'keefe — reported title “WUMP Director”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

490 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 490 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$188 total compensation of comparable organizations → $216,155 $36,679
$20,76710th
$46,67325th
$71,497Median
$91,66775th
$114,15290th
$36,679This org · 20th
p10$20,767
p25$46,673
p50$71,497
p75$91,667
p90$114,152
$36,679

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 VA 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
Brothers And Sisters Emerging PA$452,617 President And Ceo $96,085 $102,170 2023
Youth Incorporated TN$452,526 Executive Director $55,000 $59,876 2024
Annie Moses Ministries TN$454,534 Dir And Treas $28,444 $35,845 2021
Kids In Need Of Mchenry County Inc IL$454,795 Executive Dir. $48,385 $49,266 2024
Whole Human Project CO$451,844 Executive Dir $123,259 $122,408 2024
Team Kids Inc CA$455,402 Ceo $67,538 $62,184 2023
Rise Up Reno Prevention Network KS$455,424 Executive Di $54,284 $60,738 2024
Guidance Life Skills And Mentoring Inc IN$450,826 Executive Director $33,806 $38,014 2023
Girls On The Run Las Vegas NV$456,919 Executive Dir. $90,945 $91,981 2025
Project Kindred Inc WI$450,053 Executive Dir Through December 2023 $90,000 $97,347 2024
Genesis Inc IA$449,883 Executive Director $79,262 $89,884 2024
Adventure Works Of Dekalb IL$457,343 Executive Di $98,032 $99,816 2024
The Rock Center CO$457,880 Executive Dir. $89,816 $89,196 2024
Girls On The Run Of Central Ohio OH$458,015 Council Director $67,662 $74,222 2024
Camp Kidwell MI$448,721 Camp Directo $39,572 $42,303 2024
Save Girls On Fyer Inc CT$458,759 President, Ceo $90,000 $89,977 2023
Girls On The Run Worcester County Inc MA$448,248 Executive Director $49,269 $47,208 2023
Boise Youth Sports Complex Inc ID$447,075 President $9,020 $10,231 2023
Upstate Institute Of Youth Programs SC$446,212 Ceo $62,540 $67,573 2024
Resources To Inspire Students & Educators-dc DC$462,921 Executive Director $95,000 $88,890 2023
Communities In School Of Greenbrier WV$463,401 Executive Dir. $75,210 $86,830 2023
Girls Embracing Mothers Inc TX$463,500 Chair And President $89,160 $92,370 2024
Mill Town Foundation SC$463,666 Director $8,730 $9,433 2024
Club Esteem Inc FL$463,856 Executive Director $88,490 $86,096 2024
Joe's Place Ministries OR$464,999 Executive Di $60,262 $57,960 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VA 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 VA 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 default20th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)20th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted21st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted20th

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 (Melissa O'keefe) 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 490 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (O50), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $36,679 is reasonable (approximately the 20th 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.