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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Joseph Project Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 832492317
MI · NTEE I80
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Nate Knapper, Executive Director / CEO ($30,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 86 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 5th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

86 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 86 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$12,256 total compensation of comparable organizations → $382,843 $30,000
$38,19710th
$51,77825th
$72,108Median
$91,22675th
$116,73690th
$30,000This org · 5th
p10$38,197
p25$51,778
p50$72,108
p75$91,226
p90$116,736
$30,000

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
Student Legal Services Inc NY$312,839 Director $94,906 $78,623 2025
Arizona Justice For Our Neighbors AZ$312,535 Executive Dir. $95,351 $86,294 2024
Emergency Legal Responders LA$317,714 Executive Director $80,125 $85,479 2023
Servicios Legales Comunitarios Inc PR$309,343 Chief Operating Officer $68,151 $66,196 2024
Connect Immigration CO$306,327 Executive Director $87,000 $78,504 2024
Trinity Legal Clinic Of Oklahoma OK$326,987 Executive Dir. $56,347 $58,387 2024
Arizona Crime Victim Rights Law Group AZ$301,434 Executive Dir. $78,125 $70,705 2024
Wyoming Childrens Law Center WY$298,593 Executive Director And Ex Officio Board Member $113,980 $118,248 2023
Community Mediation Dc DC$296,363 Former Executive Director $59,701 $49,300 2024
Atlantic Area Court Appointed Casa GA$333,808 Director $76,016 $71,926 2024
Benton Franklin Legal Aid Society WA$294,679 Executive Dir. $63,815 $53,765 2024
Justice For Our Neighbors Of The PA$294,362 Executive Dir. $32,917 $31,803 2023
World Immigration Center Inc NY$335,018 Secretary $25,829 $22,612 2023
Legal Assistance Of Dakota County MN$293,191 Executive Di $88,625 $84,842 2023
Greater Dayton Volunteer Lawyers Project OH$339,911 Executive Director $87,000 $86,713 2024
Columbia Basin Dispute Resolution Center WA$288,772 Executive Dir. $53,000 $45,972 2023
South Lake Tahoe Family Resource Center CA$288,622 Executive Dir. $50,002 $41,831 2023
Legal Resource Center On Violence Against Women Inc MD$340,335 Executive Director $117,620 $100,813 2025
Southwest Georgia Legal Self-help GA$342,337 Executive Di $33,182 $31,397 2024
Montgomery County Bar Foundation AL$283,016 Executive Director $90,360 $91,864 2024
Columbia Gorge Casa OR$282,100 Executive Dir. $59,267 $51,794 2024
Lex Rex Institute CA$281,879 Ceo And Attorney $471,140 $382,843 2024
Peoples Law Center WI$281,834 Executive Director $138,000 $139,631 2023
Washington Wage Claim Project WA$281,506 Staff Attorney $183,961 $154,990 2024
Women Against Abuse Legal Center PA$348,150 Executive Director & Presi $12,685 $12,256 2023

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 default5th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)2nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted3rd

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 (Nate Knapper) 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 86 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (I80), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $30,000 is reasonable (approximately the 5th 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.