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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Echo Collective

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 853689236
NE · NTEE B60
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Kelly Ross, Executive Director / CEO ($38,780) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 144 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 31st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

How comparable organizations were selected

144 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 144 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,004 total compensation of comparable organizations → $240,529 $38,780
$15,27510th
$32,38625th
$53,516Median
$72,96575th
$88,64190th
$38,780This org · 31st
p10$15,275
p25$32,386
p50$53,516
p75$72,965
p90$88,641
$38,780

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 NE cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateTotal revenueTotal compSource
First Place 4 HealthTX $257,264$58,450 990
International Mentoring Foundation ForMA $256,372$57,970 990
Life Enrichment Center Of NorfolkVA $260,932$98,824 990
You Can Make It Home Ownership CtrTN $261,432$63,575 990
Run Hard Rest Well IncIN $253,340$60,566 990
Association For Machine Learning And ApplicationsCA $251,017$48,171 990
The Most Excellent Way Learning Life Center IncNJ $264,783$22,853 990
Marion County Literacy Council IncFL $249,959$56,242 990
Anewvista Community ServicesCA $248,249$45,678 990
Berean Bible Institute IncWI $266,885$61,228 990
Onelife For Life IncMI $247,631$60,905 990
Peak Research InstituteCO $247,400$27,067 990
Hey NeighborCO $246,939$35,549 990
Dcro InstituteOH $268,519$53,374 990
Florida Preborn Rescue IncFL $245,779$108,735 990
Second Chance Education IncCA $245,689$49,188 990
Harleys DreamCO $245,039$46,359 990
Literacy Chippewa ValleyWI $244,707$44,477 990
Mrva IncHI $270,500$29,003 990
Iowa City Unesco City Of LiteratureIA $244,011$110,275 990
Wordplay CincyOH $271,462$87,643 990
Emergency Medicine EducationalIN $273,000$1,211 990
Encore Learning IncVA $273,925$46,440 990
Annies Project-education For Farm WomenIL $274,246$64,071 990
Midcoast LiteracyME $239,926$39,566 990

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 NE 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 default31st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)28th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted35th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted23rd

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 (Kelly Ross) 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 144 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $38,780 is reasonable (approximately the 31st 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). 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.