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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Helix Illinois Nfp

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 851598684
IL · NTEE O50
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sean Connolly, Executive Director / CEO ($30,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 211 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 34th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Sean Connolly — reported title “Executive Dir.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

211 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 211 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$18 total compensation of comparable organizations → $150,851 $30,000
$8,76310th
$21,88825th
$46,460Median
$67,36275th
$81,04990th
$30,000This org · 34th
p10$8,763
p25$21,888
p50$46,460
p75$67,362
p90$81,049
$30,000

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 IL 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
The Academy365 Inc NJ$154,739 Ceo $21,496 $19,522 2024
Laurel Highlands PA$153,517 President/tr $5,834 $5,918 2024
Abilities Movement Inc NY$153,057 Executive Director $68,840 $61,643 2025
Girls On The Run Orlando Inc FL$155,730 Executive Dir. $13,750 $13,139 2024
Game Changers Leadership And Peer OH$155,990 Executive Di $97,800 $102,648 2025
Youth Opportunity Foundation Inc IN$151,861 Ceo $63,581 $68,201 2024
The Coleman A Young Ii Educational MI$151,621 Donor Relations Mgr $13,900 $15,025 2023
Byrd House Behavioral Youth Resource Development Incorporated GA$157,072 Executive Director $2,100 $2,148 2024
Suburban Balance MO$150,874 President & Ceo $62,000 $66,795 2024
The Play4peace Initiative MA$157,947 President, C $45,000 $41,132 2024
The Playmakers Organization Inc CA$150,381 Executive Dir. $49,500 $43,477 2024
Tilghman Area Youth Association Inc MD$158,317 Executive Dir. $26,839 $25,523 2024
Hip-hope Inc IA$158,432 Chaplain/bookkeeper $1,500 $1,671 2024
Toughest Kids Inc GA$158,664 Executive Di $3,000 $3,068 2024
South Central Education Development Inc WV$158,951 President/executive Director $90,208 $99,349 2024
Juvenile Education & Awareness Project NJ$149,054 Ceo $3,120 $2,833 2024
Childrens Books On Wheels TX$159,781 President $72,800 $76,261 2023
Inland Circle CA$161,393 Chief Executive Officer $26,550 $23,320 2024
Wartime Fitness Warriors VA$147,131 President $43,375 $42,600 2024
Brimhall Family Foundation AZ$147,083 President $12,600 $12,326 2024
Shoreline Sports Foundation WA$161,614 Executive Dir. $58,900 $53,639 2024
Coalition Of Care Greater Cincinnati OH$146,891 Co Executive Director $67,500 $72,721 2024
Young Women Lead Inc KY$161,844 Executive Director $56,583 $61,835 2024
Girls On The Run Greater Connecticut CT$161,914 Executive Director $39,334 $36,546 2025
Sis Circles Inc GA$162,427 Key Employee $63,900 $65,354 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 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 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.

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 default34th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)32nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted35th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted34th

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 (Sean Connolly) 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 211 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (O50), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $30,000 is reasonable (approximately the 34th 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.