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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Live Free Ministries

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 841942797
NJ · NTEE F50
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Carl Thomas, Executive Director / CEO ($84,522) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 21 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 57th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Carl Thomas — reported title “CEO EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

21 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 21 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$35,902 total compensation of comparable organizations → $166,993 $84,522
$40,55710th
$48,52425th
$81,107Median
$95,56775th
$126,01790th
$84,522This org · 57th
p10$40,557
p25$48,524
p50$81,107
p75$95,567
p90$126,017
$84,522

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 NJ 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
Mission Heart Inc LA$417,288 President & Ceo $29,111 $35,902 2024
First Contact NC$417,885 Executive Di $56,614 $65,518 2024
Cross Roads Recovery Ministries GA$403,494 President $70,602 $79,509 2024
Prodigals International WA$438,739 Vice President $90,000 $90,249 2024
Applied Prevention Science OH$366,492 Treasurer $78,250 $95,567 2023
Zoe Freedom Center VA$458,845 Ceo $75,000 $81,107 2024
The Healing House MO$461,807 Executive Di $40,746 $48,336 2024
Young Leadership Addiction Awareness Inc CT$462,056 Ceo And Secretary $120,000 $126,017 2024
Addiction Education Society Inc CA$355,982 Executive Di $130,000 $129,442 2023
The Gino Macchio Foundation Inc NY$342,811 Executive Director $89,996 $91,083 2024
Amistad Y Resolana NM$339,114 Executive Director $32,500 $39,151 2024
Equalsrq Inc FL$497,410 Executive Director $45,958 $47,109 2025
His Joshua House TX$317,504 Executive Di $36,200 $40,557 2024
Step Seven Inc CO$521,341 President $72,000 $77,325 2024
Pureheart Ministries OR$293,530 Director $98,700 $102,659 2024
Dynamic Recovery MT$292,950 Executive Di $69,350 $83,727 2024
Bee Cave Recovery TX$292,182 Executive Di $65,624 $73,523 2024
Southern Minnesota Behavioral Health MN$540,791 Executive Director - Part Year $42,587 $48,524 2023
School Of Addiction Recovery UT$542,743 Executive Di $74,500 $85,401 2024
Samson House TN$581,498 Former Direc $141,844 $166,993 2024
Joshua Recovery Ministries Inc OH$597,435 Executive Di $80,000 $97,705 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NJ cost of living and 2024 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 NJ 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 default57th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)71st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted57th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted57th

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 (Carl Thomas) 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 21 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (F50), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $84,522 is reasonable (approximately the 57th 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.