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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Backpack Friends Incorporated

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 831109816
TX · NTEE P20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Tom Cottar, Executive Director / CEO ($82,955) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 44 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 91st percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Tom Cottar — reported title “Executive Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

44 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 44 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$3,450 total compensation of comparable organizations → $141,900 $82,955
$17,02810th
$23,82225th
$43,559Median
$62,92375th
$76,75390th
$82,955This org · 91st
p10$17,028
p25$23,822
p50$43,559
p75$62,923
p90$76,753
$82,955

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 TX 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
Inspiring Tomorrows Leaders TX$200,582 President & Ceo $67,000 $67,000 2023
Ebby Halliday Foundation TX$216,943 Chairman $50,000 $48,566 2024
Daughters Of The Most High God TX$218,340 Chief Executive $65,000 $65,000 2023
Michael Rowan Ministries Inc TX$218,704 President $96,939 $94,158 2024
Circle Of Hope Community Center TX$219,688 Executive Director $45,000 $43,709 2024
Crisis Intervention Of Houston Incorporated TX$220,297 Executive Director $70,000 $70,000 2023
Free The Captives TX$222,896 Executive Dir. $51,754 $51,754 2023
Intrepid Care TX$191,302 Barker $48,071 $46,692 2024
Lila Lane Outreach TX$225,282 Executive Director $48,000 $48,000 2023
Veteran Womens Enterprise Center TX$185,752 Ceo/founder $30,000 $30,000 2023
311 Ministries TX$184,586 Executive Director $64,160 $64,160 2023
Testicular Cancer Foundation TX$184,198 Ceo $23,000 $22,340 2024
New Life For A New Generation TX$235,533 President & $24,000 $24,000 2023
Possum Kingdom Lake Volunteer Fire TX$237,087 Treasurer $11,800 $11,461 2024
Kaleidoscope Ministries TX$177,997 Executive Director $62,292 $60,505 2024
Dream Fund TX$177,171 Executive Director $66,000 $64,106 2024
Familias Triunfadoras Inc TX$238,486 Part Time Employee $12,500 $12,500 2023
Deep Roots Ministries Inc TX$175,816 Executive Director $41,100 $41,100 2023
Ifs Empowerment Center TX$171,941 President & Ceo $24,550 $23,846 2024
Kingdom Servants Inc TX$244,775 Director/chairm $141,900 $141,900 2023
Turner Leadership Strategies Inc TX$246,470 President $43,409 $43,409 2023
Amarillo Area Mental Health TX$246,960 Executive Di $50,230 $48,789 2024
Helping Hands Of Kilgore TX$162,622 Executive Dir. $33,000 $32,053 2024
The Oasis Center TX$252,559 Director $24,115 $23,423 2024
And Then A New Day TX$257,633 Executive Dir. $65,000 $65,000 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TX 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 TX 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 default91st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)91st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted91st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted86th

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 (Tom Cottar) 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 44 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (P20) + TX + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $82,955 is reasonable (approximately the 91st 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.