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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Pennsylvania Association Of Public Employee Retirement Systems (Papers)

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 202304466
PA · NTEE W22
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Karen Deklinski, Executive Director / CEO ($70,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 327 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 71st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Karen Deklinski — reported title “Executive Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

327 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 327 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$201 total compensation of comparable organizations → $586,887 $70,000
$7,01610th
$18,73425th
$41,328Median
$78,09575th
$107,73090th
$70,000This org · 71st
p10$7,016
p25$18,734
p50$41,328
p75$78,095
p90$107,730
$70,000

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 PA 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
Lake County Honor Flight IL$234,502 Executive Director $28,680 $28,274 2023
Ride Provide Inc CO$235,133 President $32,760 $30,596 2024
Trenton Water Users Cooperative ND$235,707 President $2,390 $2,554 2024
Greater Missouri Leadership MO$235,713 Executive Di $95,000 $100,899 2023
Benefit Big Sky MT$233,491 Executive Dir. $9,368 $9,835 2024
Brooklyn Alliance Capital Inc NY$232,572 President & Ceo $31,617 $27,827 2024
Science Literacy Project OH$232,504 Executive Director $184,356 $190,186 2024
Warrior Strong Inc PA$236,873 President $75,385 $73,222 2024
Northwest Turfgrass Association WA$232,382 Executive Director $32,515 $29,192 2023
Renew America Together Inc AR$231,584 Executive Director $155,441 $170,181 2024
Kennett Flash Inc PA$231,488 Executive Di $57,050 $55,413 2024
Leading For Change Inc AZ$231,487 President & Ceo $109,740 $102,796 2024
Prairie Village Water Trust WI$231,474 Trustee $3,200 $3,255 2024
The California Center For Civic CA$238,069 Executive Dir. $115,774 $97,372 2024
Coast Guard Employees Credit Union LA$230,702 Ceo $68,000 $72,931 2024
Aranya Solutions MT$230,397 President $12,000 $12,971 2023
Southwest Wayne Water Assoc Inc MS$238,996 President $325 $353 2024
Dunham House Inc NE$239,278 Executive Director $110,000 $115,236 2024
West Virginia Nonprofit Association Inc WV$229,999 Executive Director $63,197 $66,647 2024
Rhode Island Center For Freedom And Prosperity Inc RI$229,988 Executive Director $86,500 $83,173 2023
Storm The Heavens PA$229,827 President $15,000 $15,000 2023
South Dade Womens Veterans Alliance Inc FL$229,790 Ceo/executive Director $65,936 $60,331 2024
Burn Pits 360 TX$239,581 Director $60,000 $58,459 2024
Los Tules Mutual Water Company CA$239,926 Director $28,700 $24,139 2024
Wlvt Re Inc PA$240,000 President/ceo $25,592 $25,592 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to PA 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 PA 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 default71st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)70th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted72nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted64th

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 (Karen Deklinski) 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 327 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (W), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $70,000 is reasonable (approximately the 71st 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.