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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Short Grass Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 850714809
OR · NTEE X12
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Thomas Graves, Executive Director / CEO ($8,200) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 881 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 8th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

881 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 881 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $495,013 $8,200
$10,04510th
$23,05925th
$41,545Median
$71,13375th
$105,42990th
$8,200This org · 8th
p10$10,045
p25$23,059
p50$41,545
p75$71,133
p90$105,429
$8,200

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 OR 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
International Praise Harvest Ministries MD$145,600 General Overseer $30,341 $30,545 2023
New Paradigm Christian Church IN$145,593 Pastor $35,296 $38,931 2024
Ignition Point Ministries Inc FL$145,924 President $72,277 $71,017 2024
Catholic Charities Of The Archdiocese Of Indianapolis Inc IN$145,334 Executive Director $17,795 $19,122 2025
Restoration Ministries Inc AZ$145,293 Director $55,000 $56,958 2023
Shekinah Glory Ministries LA$145,272 President $55,235 $65,494 2023
Jesus Spoken Here Ministries Inc GA$145,257 President $94,380 $99,256 2024
Joshua's Way Inc SC$145,119 President $16,500 $18,005 2024
Palisades Church A Nj Nonprofit Cor NJ$146,305 President $40,000 $38,457 2023
Your Torah Tutors MI$146,345 President Treasury Director $33,800 $37,568 2023
Jonathan Del Turco Ministries Inc MA$144,922 President $140,625 $132,172 2024
Friends Church Extension Fund OR$146,565 Treasurer $10,000 $9,713 2024
Trowbridge Ministries AZ$146,613 President $32,299 $32,489 2024
Ron Jones Ministries Inc VA$144,758 Secretary $6,250 $6,149 2025
New Sower Christian Church Cor NY$146,635 Teacher Minist $28,300 $27,537 2023
Boston Collaborative Inc MA$146,727 Executive Director $101,250 $95,164 2024
David Crain New Life Ministries TX$146,736 President $34,054 $35,629 2024
Ikram Foundation For Empowerment VA$144,607 Executive Director/board Member $74,923 $75,664 2024
Revelation 320 Missionary Ministry And Biblical Teachings Inc FL$146,961 Senior Pastor $15,600 $15,328 2024
Ministerio Internacional El Gran Yo Soy Inc IN$144,409 Trustees $12,200 $13,854 2023
Tommy Bates Ministries Inc KY$147,112 President/trus $14,000 $16,197 2023
Chinese Christian Scholars Association In North America MA$147,138 President $90,384 $87,460 2023
Taylor Ministries Inc GA$147,173 President $60,000 $63,100 2024
Copeland Family Supporting Organization VA$144,179 Secretary $5,470 $5,524 2024
Espavo NV$144,178 Chairman $72,000 $73,540 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to OR 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 OR 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 default8th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)9th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted14th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted7th

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 (Thomas Graves) 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 881 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (X), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $8,200 is reasonable (approximately the 8th 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.