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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Words Of Hope 4 Life

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 873312148
MI · NTEE F01
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Nikki O'donnell, Executive Director / CEO ($19,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 332 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: Nikki O'donnell — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

332 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 332 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$247 total compensation of comparable organizations → $251,680 $19,500
$11,30710th
$26,23925th
$43,920Median
$64,16375th
$77,54190th
$19,500This org · 16th
p10$11,307
p25$26,239
p50$43,920
p75$64,163
p90$77,541
$19,500

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 MI 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
Volunteer Information & Referral Service WY$162,053 Executive Director $30,414 $32,484 2023
Jersey Innovative Services Foundati NJ$162,494 Trustee $2,660 $2,301 2024
Smiles For Jake MN$161,163 Executive Di $83,861 $80,282 2024
Wabash Recovery Services Inc IN$160,941 Executive Di $53,200 $54,354 2024
Road Radio Usa Inc PA$162,818 President $72,000 $71,618 2023
Petersburg Mental Health Services Inc AK$162,935 Executive Director $41,900 $37,810 2025
Sick Recovery For 638 PA$163,527 Executive Director $31,731 $30,657 2024
Dbt-linehan Board Of Certification WA$160,158 Consulting Executive Director, Ex Officio $104,458 $90,607 2024
Community Recovery International MI$160,100 Director $65,700 $65,700 2024
Beech Grove Comprehensive Drug-free IN$164,073 Executive Di $50,394 $51,487 2024
Watershed Ministries Inc NC$164,101 Executive Di $24,000 $24,026 2024
North Cherry Creek Counseling Center CO$159,406 Vice President $86,398 $80,263 2024
Fraser Independent Living Project V MN$159,211 Ceo/secretary $25,655 $24,560 2024
Rapha House NC$158,818 Board Chair $22,871 $23,572 2023
Nashua Street Corporation RI$158,759 President - Trustee $83,575 $77,641 2024
Bennie's Barn Inc OK$165,068 Executive Director $21,000 $23,065 2023
Youth Farm Inc IL$165,178 President & Ceo $21,294 $19,759 2025
Central Ohio Group Fellowship Inc OH$165,204 Office Manager $56,134 $57,602 2024
Day At A Time Inc CO$165,340 Manager $29,656 $27,550 2024
Neighborhood Living Resources CO$165,355 Ceo $33,102 $31,660 2023
Sims Training And Wellness Center NC$157,833 Sims $47,640 $49,099 2023
Shelter Of Wisdom HI$157,678 Vp/director $32,400 $28,104 2024
The Center For Reintegration NY$166,063 Executive Director $12,560 $11,321 2023
The Shed Inc AL$157,435 President $25,284 $26,464 2024
Corpus Christi Safe Place House Inc TX$157,276 Administrator $31,750 $30,770 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MI 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 MI 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)16th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted26th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted13th

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 (Nikki O'donnell) 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 332 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (F), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $19,500 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.