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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Grand Foundation Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 201897324
NE · NTEE A80
FY ending 2024-07-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of James Pohl, Executive Director / CEO ($13,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 66 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 12th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

66 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 66 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,566 total compensation of comparable organizations → $235,024 $13,000
$12,32110th
$19,94925th
$37,042Median
$58,71075th
$77,08190th
$13,000This org · 12th
p10$12,321
p25$19,949
p50$37,042
p75$58,710
p90$77,081
$13,000

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 NE 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
Ponca City Mainstreet Inc OK$152,974 Executive Di $54,014 $55,299 2024
Lovell Historical Society ME$151,332 President $19,815 $18,992 2023
Stockyards Plaza Inc SD$149,752 Executive Director $76,301 $78,293 2024
Westerly Armory Restoration Inc RI$155,312 Treasurer $26,250 $23,402 2024
Heritage Alliance Of Ne Tn & Sw Va TN$155,315 Director $45,478 $45,758 2023
Quakertown Alive PA$155,888 Executive Director $67,022 $62,141 2024
Norwalk Historical Society Inc CT$156,068 Executive Dir. $48,000 $41,844 2024
Hidalgo Foundation TX$157,430 Pres./exec. Dir $44,083 $40,999 2024
East Tennessee Historical Society Foundation TN$157,780 President/ceo $13,361 $13,058 2024
National Society Of The Daughters Of The OK$147,152 President $7,500 $7,906 2023
Saint Petersburg Preservation Inc FL$159,952 Executive Director $84,621 $73,911 2024
The Allen County Courthouse Preservation Trust Inc IN$161,074 Executive Director $90,789 $89,017 2024
The Ballard House Project Inc AL$142,515 Executive Director $18,000 $18,614 2023
Wilsons Creek National Battlefield Foundation MO$162,963 Executive Director $46,230 $45,525 2024
The Chicago Club Preservation Foundation IL$141,514 Management Representative $29,859 $27,293 2024
Spring Grove Area Historical PA$165,010 Executive Di $57,335 $53,160 2024
Natl Washington-rochambeau Rev Rt A MD$139,631 Executive Di $32,800 $28,511 2024
Sunrise Historic And Prehistoric WY$165,662 Principal In $6,000 $5,974 2024
Historical Society Of Southern CA$167,089 Executive Director $23,400 $18,787 2024
Colorado Freedom Memorial Fndtn CO$167,576 President $45,000 $40,118 2024
California History Center Foundation CA$135,627 Program Director (Fhda Instructor) $292,740 $235,024 2024
Great Bridge Battlefield VA$169,994 Executive Director $63,907 $59,065 2023
Craik-patton Inc WV$134,149 Executive Director $40,000 $40,267 2024
Shelby County Historical Society IN$171,028 Executive Dir. $43,269 $42,424 2024
T Thomas Fortune Foundation NJ$132,664 Executive Di $34,588 $28,712 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NE 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 NE 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 default12th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)9th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted17th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted11th

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 (James Pohl) 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 66 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A80), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $13,000 is reasonable (approximately the 12th 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.