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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Frederick Douglass Project For

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 843166690
DC · NTEE I43
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Marc Howard, Executive Director / CEO ($45,292) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 19 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 16th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

19 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 19 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,094 total compensation of comparable organizations → $141,769 $45,292
$37,63010th
$50,29225th
$69,334Median
$92,35575th
$107,53790th
$45,292This org · 16th
p10$37,630
p25$50,292
p50$69,334
p75$92,355
p90$107,537
$45,292

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 DC 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
Native American Reentry Services WA$395,754 Executive Director $60,000 $63,023 2023
Horizon Community Engagement OH$369,749 Executive Di $33,252 $40,134 2024
Harrison County Lifelong Learning IN$343,080 Executive Director $80,218 $96,401 2024
Free The Ballot Incarcerated Voter Family Network PA$449,333 Executive Director $61,011 $69,334 2024
Inside Out Reentry Inc IA$460,309 Executive Director $59,118 $73,764 2024
Motherhood Beyond Bars Inc GA$323,309 Executive Di $46,000 $52,707 2024
Chicago Bible Society IL$304,334 Executive Director $56,500 $65,168 2023
Innocence Delaware Inc DE$486,466 Ed (From 4/24); Sec (Until 4/24) $24,750 $27,616 2024
Project Pooch OR$295,316 Executive Director $88,693 $93,860 2024
Freedom Grow WA$294,749 Executive Director $1,000 $1,094 2022
Human Kindness Foundation NC$292,470 Executive Dir. $74,988 $88,296 2024
Interaction Transition WA$291,073 Executive Director $91,401 $90,849 2025
Bay Area Chaplains CA$290,309 Chaplain $144,072 $141,769 2024
Chicago Community Bond Fund IL$510,635 Board Chair $100,701 $112,818 2024
Ourjourney Co NC$268,885 Executive Director $39,617 $46,648 2024
Building Promise Usa TX$526,485 Executive Director $42,000 $47,877 2024
Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition ME$535,374 Executive Di $58,741 $67,029 2024
Exoduslife AR$578,738 Executive Director $65,518 $86,402 2023
Changed Choices Inc NC$582,287 Executive Dir. $92,595 $106,217 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to DC 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 DC 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 default16th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)26th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted16th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted11th

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 (Marc Howard) 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 19 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (I43), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $45,292 is reasonable (approximately the 16th 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.