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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Volunteer Center Of The Lehigh Valley

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 232862188
PA · NTEE S80
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Karen Daly Smith, Executive Director / CEO ($78,409) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 77 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 73rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

77 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 77 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$807 total compensation of comparable organizations → $165,483 $78,409
$9,72610th
$25,15125th
$54,355Median
$79,85575th
$104,81490th
$78,409This org · 73rd
p10$9,726
p25$25,151
p50$54,355
p75$79,855
p90$104,814
$78,409

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
Spectrum Of Findlay Inc OH$294,496 Executive Di $13,750 $15,035 2023
Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge Of Tn TN$292,452 Grand Master $12,000 $12,649 2024
Hillsboro Economic Development Corp ND$295,915 Business Manager $8,093 $9,169 2023
Families First Of Monroe County Inc WI$296,528 Executive Director $54,765 $59,048 2023
Birmingham Bloomfield MI$297,753 Executive Di $101,606 $105,165 2024
The Lutheran Service Society Of New York NY$285,829 Executive Director $71,926 $67,099 2023
Mcleod Alliance MN$285,813 Director $66,511 $65,903 2024
Open Arms Rape Crisis Center & Lgbt Services TX$284,932 Executive Director $64,126 $66,224 2023
Greater Cheyenne Foundation WY$284,004 Secretary $47,245 $50,731 2024
Mining The Truth TX$304,304 President $90,000 $90,278 2024
Columbus Rotary Foundation Inc OH$283,453 Secretary $1,438 $1,572 2023
Kumu Kahua Theatre Inc HI$305,302 Managing Dir $73,780 $66,239 2024
Send Musicians To Prison TN$306,358 President $68,100 $73,901 2023
Onevirginia2021 Foundation VA$281,741 Executive Di $95,833 $92,788 2024
Friends Of The Trail WA$281,741 President, Executive Director, Director $101,285 $88,589 2025
Neighbors Plus MI$309,345 Exec Dir $51,008 $54,355 2023
Sporting Clays For Charity Inc NJ$310,030 Treasurer $875 $807 2023
Gentlemens League TN$310,707 Executive Director $9,305 $10,098 2023
Community Services Agency Of The DC$276,632 Executive Director Thru March 2024 $112,909 $99,356 2024
Professional Firefighters Of Lake County Local 3990 FL$313,013 President $16,817 $15,842 2024
Senior Center Of Langlade County In WI$270,449 Program Director $33,991 $36,649 2023
North Carolinas Eastern Alliance NC$270,119 President/ceo $3,000 $3,201 2023
Coastal Communities Family Success NJ$267,798 Executive Director $75,000 $69,132 2023
New York Credit Union Foundation NY$321,776 President / Ceo $4,771 $4,323 2024
Gapps Global Alliance To Prevent WA$265,582 Treasurer $24,000 $21,547 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to PA 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 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 default73rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)74th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted75th
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 (Karen Daly Smith) 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 77 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S80), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $78,409 is reasonable (approximately the 73rd 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.