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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Carleton-willard Foundation Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 205785760
MA · NTEE T990
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Christopher Golen, Executive Director / CEO ($24,061) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 104 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 45th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Christopher Golen — reported title “PRESIDENT & CEO (AS OF 4/24/23)”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

104 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 104 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$489 total compensation of comparable organizations → $300,548 $24,061
$3,12910th
$10,57525th
$29,219Median
$50,98275th
$101,90590th
$24,061This org · 45th
p10$3,129
p25$10,575
p50$29,219
p75$50,982
p90$101,905
$24,061

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 MA 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
Gershenson Family Support Foundation MI$37,876 Secretary/treasurer $26,189 $29,219 2024
Passavant Memorial Homes Foundation PA$37,833 Ceo & President $36,502 $39,346 2024
Local 2222 Ibew Benevolent Fund Tr MA$38,181 President Trustee/ Retired 12/2023- Deceased $8,510 $8,510 2023
Shaevsky Family Foundation MI$38,406 Treasurer $26,189 $29,219 2024
Raymond H Jr & Bonnie B Hefner Family OK$37,204 Secretary $25,864 $31,693 2023
Helen Harper Brown Foundation FL$37,085 Trustee $2,399 $2,508 2023
The Sahandaywi Foundation CA$37,027 Treasurer $66,677 $62,233 2024
Foundation Property Inc PA$38,813 President/ceo $23,750 $26,356 2023
Hope Church Endowment Fund MI$36,762 Director $50,000 $57,431 2023
Btcf Resources Inc MA$39,006 Interim President/ceo, Eff. 9/2024 $38,088 $36,995 2024
Dentaquest Care Group Inc MA$39,146 President/director [7/20/2024 - 12/31/2024] $62,202 $60,417 2024
North Hudson Community Action Foundation Inc NJ$39,288 Director $3,399 $3,195 2025
Hughes Memorial Trust IA$39,308 President $9,028 $11,000 2023
Unc Health Rockingham NC$36,401 Director $47,207 $54,281 2023
Boston Charitable Trust Fund MA$39,359 Cfo, Collector-treasurer $27,099 $26,322 2024
Carson Tahoe Hospital Medical Staff Fund Inc NV$39,892 President $16,000 $17,335 2024
Ritter Charitable Trust NV$35,779 Director $44,453 $49,586 2023
University Of Northern Iowa Research IA$40,068 President $49,744 $60,611 2023
Hudson Headwaters Health Foundation Inc NY$40,105 Ceo Of Hhhn & Ex Officio $86,967 $84,943 2024
Penn-liberty Holding Company PA$40,510 President/director $220,083 $244,236 2023
Gnof Support Foundation LA$35,201 Director $55,624 $68,160 2023
Borror Family Foundation OH$41,018 Asst Secretary $105,945 $124,872 2023
Zlotoff Family Support Foundation MI$34,634 Treasurer $26,189 $29,219 2024
Tekamah Community Foundation NE$41,138 Sec-tres $1,800 $2,154 2023
Louis And Frances Swinken Supporting KS$41,221 Cfo $18,771 $21,919 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MA 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 MA 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 default45th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)48th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted69th

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 (Christopher Golen) 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 104 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (T), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $24,061 is reasonable (approximately the 45th 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.