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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Steam Ahead Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 833984772
MA · NTEE S99
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Alix Holder, Executive Director / CEO ($60,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 20 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 75th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Alix Holder — reported title “PRESIDENT/CLERK”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

20 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 20 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$597 total compensation of comparable organizations → $120,482 $60,000
$1,29410th
$5,20725th
$34,841Median
$58,75075th
$93,09690th
$60,000This org · 75th
p10$1,294
p25$5,207
p50$34,841
p75$58,750
p90$93,096
$60,000

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 MA 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
Regent Development Corporation ND$114,859 Treasurer $4,572 $5,423 2024
Moffett Park Business Group CA$119,560 Executive Dir. $107,539 $100,372 2024
Mbi Industry Advocacy Fund IA$110,721 President $21,070 $24,937 2024
Family Peace Project Inc TX$109,386 Executive Dir. $39,226 $42,413 2024
Benevolent Society MI$122,836 Cfo $550 $597 2025
Ibew Local 180 Holding Company CA$124,206 Business Manager $58,320 $56,041 2023
American Freedom Assembly Inc AL$125,058 President $76,764 $92,287 2023
Friends Of Honolulu City Lights HI$104,371 Executive Director $16,754 $16,213 2024
Forrest And Doris Sensenich Foundation MO$103,999 Director, President & Trea $1,000 $1,179 2023
Asset Based Community Development Institute IL$129,371 Vice President/director $3,000 $3,282 2023
Linda Vista Mutual Water Company CA$130,193 President $1,400 $1,307 2024
Center For The Advancement Of The Steady VA$135,130 Executive Director $112,131 $120,482 2023
Erie Basin Rc&d Council Inc OH$143,697 Coordinator $38,640 $44,236 2024
Idaho Second Amendment Alliance ID$143,870 President $36,000 $41,394 2024
Sprocket Mural Works Inc PA$86,249 Executive Dir $11,475 $12,369 2024
Doctors Park Professional Assoc Inc MO$147,753 President/ad $24,000 $28,288 2023
Laguna Community Foundation NM$149,059 Executive Di $76,188 $91,190 2023
Emerge Alliance MD$77,600 Chairman $4,510 $4,558 2024
Main Street Lexington VA$161,200 Executive Di $64,080 $66,878 2024
Chittenden County Senior Citizens Alliance Inc VT$163,408 Executive Director $47,840 $52,047 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MA 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 MA 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 default75th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)75th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted80th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted65th

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 (Alix Holder) 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 20 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $60,000 is reasonable (approximately the 75th 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.