Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Mercedes Zell-pappas, Executive Director / CEO ($10,400) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 53 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: Mercedes Zell-pappas — reported title “President”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.
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 UT cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.
| Organization | State | Revenue | Matched title | Comp (reported) | Comp (adjusted) | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Healthy Kids Katering Service Of Paterson Inc | NJ | $162,422 | Director | $12,064 | $10,835 | 2023 |
| Dulles South Soup Kitchen Inc | VA | $162,569 | Director | $36,000 | $33,962 | 2024 |
| Harvest Rural Feeding Services Inc | AR | $163,316 | Officer | $8,550 | $9,149 | 2025 |
| Forsyth Backpack Program | NC | $153,389 | Executive Director | $18,343 | $18,041 | 2025 |
| Snack In A Backpack Inc | GA | $165,273 | Director | $31,763 | $31,205 | 2024 |
| Community Food Bank | IN | $149,069 | Manager | $12,000 | $12,364 | 2024 |
| Gumdrops Nfp | IL | $148,370 | President | $31,200 | $29,970 | 2024 |
| Novick Urban Farm | PA | $170,617 | Project Manager | $45,215 | $44,056 | 2024 |
| Hungry Heroes Incorporated | SC | $171,853 | President | $61,213 | $64,238 | 2023 |
| Taunton Area Community Table Inc | MA | $144,909 | Director | $39,000 | $35,254 | 2023 |
| Stillwater Mobile Meals Inc | OK | $172,720 | Executive Dir. | $44,358 | $47,724 | 2024 |
| Emerge Inc | CT | $173,477 | President | $26,250 | $23,428 | 2025 |
| Vittles For Vets | VA | $175,714 | President/director | $8,462 | $7,983 | 2024 |
| Feed Buffalo Inc | NY | $141,575 | Executive Director | $74,254 | $67,495 | 2023 |
| Hunger Impact Partners | MN | $184,195 | Chief Exec O | $167,352 | $161,570 | 2024 |
| Alliance For Better Nutrition Inc | IN | $132,378 | President/se | $44,735 | $46,094 | 2024 |
| Bethany Center | OH | $186,012 | President | $40,000 | $42,617 | 2023 |
| Giving In Kindness In Arkansas Inc | AR | $189,359 | President And Director | $45,788 | $50,287 | 2024 |
| Cooking For Long Island Veterans | NY | $190,012 | Officer | $16,000 | $14,126 | 2024 |
| Germantown Help Inc | MD | $190,606 | Exec Director/ceo | $75,734 | $71,224 | 2023 |
| Friday Night Supper Program Inc | MA | $191,069 | Executive Director | $59,173 | $51,954 | 2024 |
| Gorham Ecumenical Food Pantry | ME | $196,126 | Executive Director | $13,500 | $13,598 | 2023 |
| East Kentucky Dream Center Inc | KY | $197,997 | Director | $28,229 | $29,633 | 2024 |
| Community Markets Inc | WV | $204,602 | Operations Manager | $47,259 | $49,996 | 2024 |
| Soup For The Soul Org Inc | KY | $204,886 | Program Manager | $42,952 | $46,420 | 2023 |
Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to UT cost of living and 2024 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.
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 UT 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.
Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:
| Basis | Subject percentile |
|---|---|
| Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default | 8th |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 8th |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 11th |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 8th |
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.
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
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.