Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Karen Simms, Executive Director / CEO ($86,718) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 33 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 79th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range
Benchmarked executive: Karen Simms — reported title “Executive Dir.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.
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 IL cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.
| Organization | State | Revenue | Matched title | Comp (reported) | Comp (adjusted) | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sisterhouse | IL | $461,585 | Executive Director | $71,814 | $75,891 | 2023 |
| 1st Way Pregnancy Support Services | IL | $440,407 | Executive Dir. | $42,000 | $43,111 | 2024 |
| Hcu Network America | IL | $476,261 | Executive Officer/secretar | $72,000 | $73,905 | 2024 |
| Street Samaritans | IL | $434,855 | Executive Director | $67,923 | $69,720 | 2024 |
| Kids Teen Rider Inc | IL | $433,792 | President | $40,000 | $41,058 | 2024 |
| Glenn Hudson Muay Thai Self Defense | IL | $432,387 | President | $88,400 | $90,739 | 2024 |
| Laurent House Foundation Inc | IL | $429,022 | Executive Director | $75,000 | $76,984 | 2024 |
| Chatham Community Collaborative Nfp | IL | $427,971 | President | $12,686 | $13,022 | 2024 |
| Center For Grief Recovery & Sibling Loss | IL | $491,066 | Executive Director | $129,645 | $137,006 | 2023 |
| Elms University Center | IL | $492,322 | Secretary | $23,167 | $23,780 | 2024 |
| House Of Neighborly Service - Monroe | IL | $417,391 | Executive Dir. | $56,833 | $58,337 | 2024 |
| United Way Of Lee County Inc | IL | $500,706 | Executive Director | $49,000 | $51,782 | 2023 |
| Rainbow Cafe Lgbtq Center | IL | $409,133 | Executive Director (Former | $60,000 | $61,588 | 2024 |
| Recovery Bound | IL | $512,457 | Executive Director | $58,230 | $59,771 | 2024 |
| Children Of Pokot Educational Fund Inc | IL | $394,695 | Executive Dir. | $20,167 | $21,312 | 2023 |
| Haven House | IL | $391,143 | President | $16,973 | $17,422 | 2024 |
| New Life For Haiti | IL | $385,490 | Executive Director | $71,566 | $71,566 | 2025 |
| Darren B Easterling Center For Restorative Practices | IL | $382,411 | Executive Director | $82,081 | $84,253 | 2024 |
| The Guardian Center Inc | IL | $536,593 | Executive Director | $66,807 | $66,807 | 2025 |
| Imago Relationships North America | IL | $364,114 | Executive Dir. | $116,504 | $119,587 | 2024 |
| Alianza Leadership Institute | IL | $554,946 | Executive Director | $70,000 | $71,852 | 2024 |
| Organic Oneness | IL | $569,636 | Executive Di | $89,000 | $91,355 | 2024 |
| Warp Corps | IL | $571,251 | Executive Di | $59,808 | $61,390 | 2024 |
| Army Of The Kind | IL | $574,467 | Vice Chair/exec Dir | $54,000 | $54,000 | 2025 |
| Hearts United Associaiton | IL | $337,196 | Ackerman | $41,140 | $42,228 | 2024 |
Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL cost of living and 2025 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.
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 IL 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.
Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:
| Basis | Subject percentile |
|---|---|
| Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default | 79th |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 82nd |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 82nd |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 79th |
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.
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
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.