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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Wave Project

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 831340243
MI · NTEE P85
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 13, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Todd Gordon, Executive Director / CEO ($20,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 46 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 17th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

46 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 46 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$4,452 total compensation of comparable organizations → $90,123 $20,000
$10,99310th
$22,50125th
$47,928Median
$58,68475th
$70,26590th
$20,000This org · 17th
p10$10,993
p25$22,501
p50$47,928
p75$58,684
p90$70,265
$20,000

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 MI 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
Dandelion House OR$230,189 President $11,470 $10,024 2024
Shelter Tech CA$231,418 Co - Executive Director $80,000 $65,007 2024
Brian Gibbons Homeless Outreach Inc CT$224,973 Program Director $78,375 $69,152 2024
Homeless Hookup OH$219,275 Executive Director $60,783 $60,583 2024
New Futures Inc AL$237,789 Executive Director $53,700 $54,593 2024
Henderson County Homeless Ministry TX$239,860 Executive Dir. $21,500 $20,836 2023
Family Promise Of Greater Chattanooga TN$240,312 Executive Director (Ended July 2025) $47,572 $47,056 2024
Haight Ashbury Food Program CA$215,790 Treasurer $23,000 $18,689 2024
Next Step Ministries Inc NM$211,130 President $49,609 $51,694 2023
Ncompass OR$246,301 Executive Dir. $34,670 $31,193 2023
Power Safe Place Resource Center Of Virginia VA$210,475 Executive Director $33,963 $31,771 2023
The Samaritan Well Inc IL$248,473 Executive Director $56,661 $51,069 2025
Weaver Foundation WA$250,008 Executive Director $72,324 $62,734 2023
Artist Mentorship Program OR$203,809 Executive Director $87,850 $79,040 2023
Would-works Inc CA$203,244 Executive Director $38,582 $31,351 2024
Second Chances Inc MA$255,587 Ceo President $106,575 $90,123 2024
Shower The People TN$200,531 Executive Director $45,000 $44,512 2024
Hands And Feet Foundation FL$258,760 President $80,740 $71,377 2024
Love-a-child Missions CA$261,556 Secretary Treas $5,479 $4,452 2024
Dignity Project CO$263,060 Ceo $74,800 $67,495 2024
Lee County Homeless Coalition Inc FL$266,454 Former Executive Director $70,327 $64,008 2023
Blankets Of Hope Inc NY$269,048 President & Ceo $65,385 $55,600 2024
Streetlives Inc NY$273,779 Executive Dir. $70,000 $59,525 2024
Homemade Hope For Homeless Children TX$274,764 Exec. Director $86,536 $83,865 2023
Community On The Rise AL$277,666 Executive Di $86,658 $88,100 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MI 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 MI 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 default17th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)15th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted17th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted17th

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 (Todd Gordon) 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 13, 2026, comparing compensation against 46 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (P85), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $20,000 is reasonable (approximately the 17th 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 13, 2026.