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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Connecticut Orthopaedic Society

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 200213167
CT · NTEE G035
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 13, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Susan Schaffman, Executive Director / CEO ($65,654) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 204 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 68th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Susan Schaffman — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

204 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 204 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$777 total compensation of comparable organizations → $294,953 $65,654
$12,76610th
$24,01625th
$48,035Median
$70,84175th
$91,34190th
$65,654This org · 68th
p10$12,766
p25$24,016
p50$48,035
p75$70,841
p90$91,341
$65,654

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
Friendship Circle Of Va VA$176,021 Executive Dir. $30,600 $31,512 2023
Hope In Pain Inc CA$175,432 President $12,025 $11,075 2023
412 Thrive PA$175,282 Executive Dir. $14,000 $14,890 2023
One Step Closer Therapeutic CA$174,828 Vp/secretary $53,000 $47,410 2024
East Tennessee Kidney Foundation Inc TN$174,597 Executive Director $73,181 $77,634 2025
Marthas Ranch Foundation TX$174,460 Executive Dir. $25,038 $26,712 2023
Move For Jenn Foundation NC$173,487 Executive Di $59,422 $63,605 2024
Manes & Miracles At Chaffee Crossing AR$178,339 Executive Director $17,000 $19,795 2024
Fibrofighters Foundation Inc CA$173,219 Medical Director $146,900 $131,407 2024
Logan County Cancer Society Inc OH$172,885 President $111,927 $126,436 2023
Austin Black Physicians TX$172,557 Executive Director $27,500 $28,497 2024
Hearts Everywhere Reaching Out For GA$172,552 Secretary & Executive Dire $70,000 $72,914 2024
Wetherald Behavioral Academy Inc GA$172,453 Board Member $26,372 $27,469 2024
Chestor House Inc CO$179,566 President $1,875 $1,862 2024
Maine Society Of Eye ME$171,786 Mseps Exec. $2,500 $2,593 2024
Pop Earth Corporation NY$179,952 Executive Di $60,000 $56,167 2024
Kidney Foundation Of Central Pa PA$180,385 Execuitive Director $68,900 $73,281 2023
Ovarian Cancer Project Inc NY$180,466 Executive Dir. $54,916 $51,407 2024
Autism Society Of America Foundation MD$181,121 President And Ceo $52,831 $51,167 2024
Candor Nc NC$182,134 Executive Director $19,250 $21,214 2023
The Chip Miller Charitable Foundation PA$182,848 Board Member $8,714 $9,002 2024
Texas Podiatric Medical Foundation TX$183,446 Executive Director $21,600 $22,383 2024
Testicular Cancer Society OH$168,040 President/director $100,000 $109,722 2024
Smith-kingsmore Syndrome Foundation OH$168,029 Executive Director $22,500 $24,051 2025
Epilepsy Foundation Of Southeast Tenness TN$167,806 Executive Director $63,373 $67,229 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CT 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 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 default68th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)73rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted73rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted65th

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 (Susan Schaffman) 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 13, 2026, comparing compensation against 204 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (G), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $65,654 is reasonable (approximately the 68th 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 13, 2026.