Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Merel Nissenberg, Executive Director / CEO ($134,588) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 64 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 91st percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended
Benchmarked executive: Merel Nissenberg — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.
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 CA cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.
| Organization | State | Revenue | Matched title | Comp (reported) | Comp (adjusted) | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cancer Resources For Elkhart County | IN | $402,012 | Executive Di | $99,287 | $121,255 | 2024 |
| Neuroendocrine Cancer Awareness Network | NY | $405,089 | Exec Director | $127,650 | $133,582 | 2024 |
| Breast Friends | OR | $406,185 | Executive Director | $45,927 | $49,392 | 2024 |
| Wisconsin Ovarian Cancer Alliance Inc | WI | $387,377 | Executive Dir. | $98,620 | $119,276 | 2024 |
| Aurora Integrated Oncology Foundation | TN | $385,373 | Chief Executive Officer | $170,001 | $213,054 | 2023 |
| Thriving Pink Inc | CA | $385,329 | Executive Director | $59,949 | $59,949 | 2024 |
| Kids & Art Foundation | CA | $385,033 | Ceo | $119,529 | $119,529 | 2024 |
| Berrien County Cancer Services Inc | MI | $412,437 | Executive Director | $88,407 | $108,796 | 2023 |
| American Lung Cancer Screening | NC | $381,744 | President | $8,000 | $9,573 | 2024 |
| Jessica June Children's Cancer | FL | $379,688 | President/ce | $93,467 | $101,685 | 2024 |
| Children's Neuroblastoma Cancer | IL | $375,569 | President/treasurer | $70,000 | $79,697 | 2024 |
| Partners For Breast Cancer Careinc | FL | $420,454 | Executive Di | $99,245 | $107,971 | 2024 |
| Starlite Shores Family Camp | MI | $373,764 | Executive Di | $23,808 | $28,458 | 2024 |
| The Breast Cancer Survivors Network | GA | $371,865 | President & Ceo | $1,500 | $1,701 | 2025 |
| Legal Information Network For Cancer | VA | $424,157 | Executive Director | $87,599 | $100,844 | 2023 |
| Testicular Cancer Awareness | CO | $370,173 | Founder & Ce | $71,288 | $79,162 | 2024 |
| Richmond County Cancer Care Treasure Shop | NC | $428,648 | President | $106,483 | $131,181 | 2023 |
| Cancer Association Of Mercer County | OH | $366,243 | Director | $36,073 | $45,553 | 2023 |
| Columbia Basin Cancer Foundation | WA | $364,731 | Executive Director | $72,000 | $76,857 | 2023 |
| The Ferrari Kid | TX | $364,235 | Ceo/executive Director | $74,800 | $86,651 | 2024 |
| Ashland County Cancer | OH | $433,810 | Executive Di | $63,499 | $80,188 | 2023 |
| Pink Hands Of Hope | PA | $433,918 | Executive Di | $50,738 | $60,327 | 2023 |
| Me Squared Cancer Foundation | TX | $442,014 | Executive Director - Start Date 7/16/2024 | $32,813 | $38,012 | 2024 |
| The National Witness Project Inc | NY | $352,895 | Executive Director | $70,000 | $75,417 | 2023 |
| Oral Cancer Foundation Hill | NM | $347,299 | President | $70,000 | $87,190 | 2024 |
Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA cost of living and 2024 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.
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 CA 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.
Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:
| Basis | Subject percentile |
|---|---|
| Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default | 91st |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 95th |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 94th |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 88th |
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.
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
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.