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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Ernst Memorial Cemetery Corporation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 200118732
NJ · NTEE Y50
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Michael Carvin, Executive Director / CEO ($1,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 22 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 9th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Michael Carvin — reported title “Trustee”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

22 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 22 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$270 total compensation of comparable organizations → $71,846 $1,000
$1,90310th
$3,05525th
$21,187Median
$46,54775th
$55,95990th
$1,000This org · 9th
p10$1,903
p25$3,055
p50$21,187
p75$46,547
p90$55,959
$1,000

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
Colonial Cemeteries Inc CT$414,166 President $2,400 $2,595 2023
The Historic Sharon Burying Ground Inc CT$381,181 Superintendentdirector $3,064 $3,218 2024
Union Hill Cemetery Company PA$377,981 President $600 $690 2023
Cave Hill Heritage Foundation KY$366,472 President/ceo $30,556 $36,768 2024
Muslim Association Of Northwest WA$445,490 Imam $47,899 $48,031 2024
Niagara Falls Memorial Park Association NY$452,837 President $70,988 $71,846 2024
Conservation Burial Inc FL$453,605 Ex Director $48,239 $52,255 2023
Morgan-cemetery Inc NJ$453,986 Trustee $3,000 $3,000 2024
Longmont Cemetery Association CO$467,774 President $6,000 $6,277 2025
Rhoads Mount Mariah Trust IL$335,245 Trustee $6,600 $7,482 2023
Sunnyside Cemetery Association WI$324,596 Trustee/sexton $29,837 $34,001 2025
Mountain Grove Cemetery-easton Inc CT$323,969 Director $250 $270 2023
The Putnam County Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals Inc NY$304,067 President $38,400 $38,864 2024
Arlington Memorial Park Association IL$511,570 Manager $51,718 $55,480 2025
Woodlawn Cemetery Association NY$276,310 Secretary / Trustee $13,200 $13,359 2024
Grace Terrace Memorial Association CA$531,095 Vice President $30,000 $29,014 2024
Blooming Grove Rural Cemetery Assoc NY$274,017 Superintendent $1,800 $1,875 2023
Independent Order Of Odd Fellows WA$542,470 Manager $41,977 $42,093 2024
Miami Memorial Park Inc AZ$549,248 Secretary/tr $52,000 $56,012 2024
Sunset Hill Cemetery Association NY$592,893 Manager/secr $63,145 $63,908 2024
Baltimore Cemetery Association Inc MD$594,881 President $2,000 $2,156 2023
St Albans Cemetery Association Inc VT$595,661 Treasurer $3,366 $3,795 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NJ 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 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 default9th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)9th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted14th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted9th

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 (Michael Carvin) 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 22 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (Y50), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $1,000 is reasonable (approximately the 9th 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.