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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Elm Project

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 061431690
CT · NTEE O99
FY ending 2024-09-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Chloe Ettari, Executive Director / CEO ($89,040) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 73 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 79th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Chloe Ettari — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

73 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 73 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,627 total compensation of comparable organizations → $142,054 $89,040
$13,57510th
$27,62925th
$64,628Median
$84,12475th
$100,48590th
$89,040This org · 79th
p10$13,575
p25$27,629
p50$64,628
p75$84,124
p90$100,485
$89,040

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 CT 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
Cochise Christian School Tuition Organization Inc AZ$432,094 Director $55,132 $56,550 2024
Carolina Winter Ensemble Association Inc SC$423,236 President $7,903 $9,053 2023
Projectivity Group Inc NY$440,425 Executive Director $42,692 $41,145 2024
Rise Up For Youth Inc KS$440,519 Executive Di $78,123 $90,015 2024
Njsa Inc CT$448,996 Director $16,000 $15,588 2025
Actup Theater Inc CT$405,607 Executive Director $132,805 $136,728 2023
Restore Assemble Produce WA$403,672 Executive Director $78,500 $74,958 2024
Providence Heights WA$401,941 Chief Program Officer $144,498 $142,054 2023
Harvest Foundation Inc MO$458,249 President $1,440 $1,627 2024
Methow Valley Nordic Ski Educational Foundation WA$458,321 Executive Director $28,123 $26,162 2025
Future Urban Leaders WI$459,581 Executiver Director - Current $96,519 $107,508 2024
North Manatee Soccer Club FL$459,982 General Manager $22,000 $21,474 2025
Focusedkids CO$398,476 Executive Director $71,500 $73,122 2024
Connecting For Kids Of Westlake Oh OH$397,222 Executive Di $49,210 $55,589 2024
Walltown Childrens Theatre NC$390,241 Executive Director $18,000 $19,836 2024
The Children Are Our Future NM$387,948 President $6,000 $7,086 2023
300 For 300 MI$386,925 Executive Director $77,268 $85,060 2024
Hillside Connection CO$473,882 Founder $64,581 $66,046 2024
The North Dakota High School Rodeo Association Inc ND$379,751 National Director $2,265 $2,651 2024
Art From Ashes Incorporated CO$379,371 Exec Dir $67,157 $70,709 2023
Seacoast Outright NH$379,006 Executive Director End 10/16/2023 $52,712 $53,444 2023
True North Youth Program CO$480,090 Executive Director $90,815 $92,875 2024
Life Decisions Inc IL$374,246 Chief Vision $35,927 $37,671 2024
Jeremiah Foundation Inc VA$486,306 Executive Dir $66,371 $68,348 2024
Team Wilderness Inc NJ$486,965 Executive Dir. $82,308 $78,378 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CT 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 CT 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 default79th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)86th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted81st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted74th

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 (Chloe Ettari) 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 73 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (O99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $89,040 is reasonable (approximately the 79th 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.