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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Columbia Housing Opportunities Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 134231983
NJ · NTEE L20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of John Whitehead, Executive Director / CEO ($4,747) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 102 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 5th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: John Whitehead — reported title “TREASURER/SECRETARY”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

102 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 102 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$10 total compensation of comparable organizations → $265,221 $4,747
$7,98710th
$12,77325th
$24,013Median
$39,44875th
$67,66990th
$4,747This org · 5th
p10$7,987
p25$12,773
p50$24,013
p75$39,448
p90$67,669
$4,747

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 NJ 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
Vinfen Corporation Of Forest Inc MA$49,044 Former Director & Ceo $21,978 $22,120 2023
The Association's Second Property Inc MA$48,886 President $7,684 $7,512 2024
Homes Of Care Inc MA$48,798 President & Ceo/director $24,869 $24,312 2024
Abcap Housing E Inc OH$49,422 Executive Director $41,692 $48,039 2024
Clovernook Housing Network OH$48,570 Ceo $14,293 $16,469 2024
Bridgewell Merrimac Housing Corporation MA$48,482 Ceo $21,300 $21,438 2023
Pacific Housing Oahu Corporation HI$50,130 Assistant Secretary $12,712 $12,381 2024
Fort Hill Housing Inc MA$50,158 President & Ceo $42,027 $42,299 2023
West Hills Housing Foundation CA$46,522 Executive Director $26,967 $26,081 2023
Affordable Housing Associates Inc UT$46,430 Treasurer $51,179 $58,667 2023
Soda Creek Apartments Inc CO$51,782 Executive Di $9,862 $10,591 2023
Mosaic Housing Corp Xviii NE$52,657 President $26,896 $31,470 2024
Advance Housing Dnm Inc NJ$45,410 Member & Ceo $25,881 $25,138 2024
Kalamazoo Area Housing Corporation MI$53,143 Secretary/treasurer $15,654 $17,578 2024
Gloucester Housing Inc MA$53,167 Ceo $211,478 $206,740 2024
Onic-senior Affordable Housing Inc FL$53,342 President $32,805 $33,526 2024
Views At Clarendon Corporation VA$44,199 Executive Director $10,950 $11,842 2023
Gemini Housing Corporation RI$54,142 Director $7,534 $7,859 2024
The Association's Fourth Property Inc MA$43,839 President $7,684 $7,512 2024
Evergreen Mutual Housing Association CA$43,833 Ceo - Thru 9/24 $27,359 $25,701 2024
Mp Can Do Inc CA$43,768 President $72,431 $68,041 2024
The Association's Third Property Inc MA$43,511 President $7,684 $7,512 2024
Albertville Housing Development Corp AL$43,210 Executive Director $24,026 $28,238 2024
Mullica Hill Snh Inc NJ$42,903 President And Ceo $64,324 $64,324 2023
Columbia Place ND$55,260 Chief Executive Officer $11,097 $13,640 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NJ cost of living and 2023 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 NJ 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 default5th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)5th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted15th

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 (John Whitehead) 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 102 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (L20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $4,747 is reasonable (approximately the 5th 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.