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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Heartstrong Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 831674710
KS · NTEE X21
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Rick Pierce, Executive Director / CEO ($172,151) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 325 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 98th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

325 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 325 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$904 total compensation of comparable organizations → $208,967 $172,151
$14,97510th
$27,87225th
$48,953Median
$75,91175th
$103,59890th
$172,151This org · 98th
p10$14,975
p25$27,872
p50$48,953
p75$75,911
p90$103,598
$172,151

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 KS 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
Global Golf TN$263,011 President $58,967 $55,727 2024
Oasis Ministry NC$263,119 President $21,987 $21,029 2023
Discovering Truth Ministries CA$262,786 President & Ceo $73,363 $56,956 2024
Pathway To Paradise Ministries MO$263,490 President $70,900 $67,516 2024
Inter-lutheran Theological Seminary MI$262,476 President $98,614 $94,217 2023
Black Sheep Motorcycle Ministry CA$263,559 President $38,400 $29,812 2024
Hope Africa Collective Inc FL$262,320 President $27,600 $23,311 2024
First Brazilian Assembly Of God Church SC$263,910 Pastor $24,000 $23,176 2023
Jerry Vines Ministries Inc GA$262,000 Ceo $111,089 $100,426 2024
Laban Ministries International Inc TN$261,870 Administrator $74,100 $68,224 2025
Acts 17six Inc TN$261,319 Vice-president $62,400 $60,714 2023
Brazilian Church Assembly Of God In Worcester MA$264,975 Pastor President $46,800 $38,928 2023
Joyful Word Ministries Inc FL$265,410 President/sec. $71,089 $61,817 2023
Alpha New England Inc MA$259,916 Executive Dir. $47,833 $39,787 2023
Doulos Ministries Inc MO$259,396 President/ce $121,355 $115,562 2024
Apocalypse Ministries Inc TN$259,278 President $73,847 $71,851 2023
Biblical Foundations Academy NC$259,240 Director $85,000 $78,964 2024
Atk International Inc KS$258,063 President $17,704 $17,196 2024
The Potters House Church VA$257,883 Pastor $15,472 $13,828 2023
Massachusetts Congregational Charitable MA$268,328 Secretary $10,000 $8,079 2024
Liberty Vision Of Hope Restoration Center Inc NY$256,998 Brown $35,140 $29,392 2023
Chinese Diaspora Mission IL$269,106 President/missionary $64,695 $58,873 2023
Iglesia Evag Cristo Promesa Fiel MD$269,326 Pastor $42,520 $35,740 2024
Harvest Christian Ministries MD$256,546 President $33,433 $28,103 2024
New Wind Inc NM$269,853 Executive Director $59,000 $57,053 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to KS 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 KS 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 default98th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)98th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted99th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted98th

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 (Rick Pierce) 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 325 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (X21), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $172,151 is reasonable (approximately the 98th 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.