Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download PDF — $49
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Watson Institute

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 251561504
PA · NTEE P110
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Kara Mostowy, Executive Director / CEO ($205,969) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 1296 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 74th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Kara Mostowy — reported title “CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

1,296 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 1,296 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,208 total compensation of comparable organizations → $1,185,879 $205,969
$76,27310th
$121,40925th
$159,312Median
$208,61775th
$270,53190th
$205,969This org · 74th
p10$76,273
p25$121,409
p50$159,312
p75$208,617
p90$270,531
$205,969

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
Jewish Family & Children's Services Of NJ$10,637,601 Ceo $254,130 $227,527 2023
Diversified Family Services PA$10,639,756 Executive Director/ceo $162,078 $157,428 2024
Urban League Of Louisiana LA$10,633,078 President/ce $159,262 $175,856 2023
Cheer Inc DE$10,629,049 Former Ceo $156,342 $149,104 2024
Age Well Inc VT$10,627,135 Ceo $195,388 $191,550 2024
🔒 1291 more comparable organizations — included in the purchased report

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 default74th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)70th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted70th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted68th

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:

Ready-to-adopt board minutes — executive compensation

🔒 The complete minutes language — three numbered resolutions pre-filled with this organization, the 1296-organization comparison, the date, and the percentile finding, ready to paste into your minutes — is included in the purchased report.

Unlock the board report — $49

Running reports for this organization all year? Annual Org Pass — $99/yr.

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.