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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Catalyst Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 131992402
NY · NTEE Z99Z
FY ending 2024-08-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Lorraine Hariton, Executive Director / CEO ($625,515) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 41 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 98th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Lorraine Hariton — reported title “PRESIDENT & CEO (OUTGOING)”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

41 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 41 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$29,279 total compensation of comparable organizations → $689,113 $625,515
$71,72110th
$134,34925th
$208,066Median
$273,07375th
$304,63990th
$625,515This org · 98th
p10$71,721
p25$134,349
p50$208,066
p75$273,073
p90$304,639
$625,515

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 NY 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
Transitionsmental Health Association CA$17,804,287 Executive Director $184,942 $181,950 2023
Fem Electric Association Inc SD$18,157,189 General Manager/ceo $309,250 $377,699 2024
The Housing Company ID$17,299,656 Executive Director $220,662 $259,773 2024
The Technical Assistance MA$17,168,882 Executive Director & Presi $280,450 $278,895 2024
Prospect Sierra School CA$18,384,892 School Head $309,649 $304,639 2023
🔒 36 more comparable organizations — included in the purchased report

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY 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 NY 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 default98th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)98th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted98th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted93rd

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:

Ready-to-adopt board minutes — executive compensation

🔒 The complete minutes language — three numbered resolutions pre-filled with this organization, the 41-organization comparison, the date, and the percentile finding, ready to paste into your minutes — is included in the purchased report.

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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.