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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Explore Mars Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 271811686
MA · NTEE B82
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Christopher Carberry, Executive Director / CEO ($120,250) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 214 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 85th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

214 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 214 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $382,404 $120,250
$11,16610th
$26,95025th
$60,633Median
$102,36975th
$136,43690th
$120,250This org · 85th
p10$11,166
p25$26,950
p50$60,633
p75$102,369
p90$136,436
$120,250

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
Privateschoolscholarships Org AZ$442,109 Executive Director $29,192 $30,437 2025
Appalachian Leadership And WV$439,740 Chairman $9,540 $11,835 2023
Brian Laviolette Scholarship Fund WI$443,316 Executive Director $43,000 $49,974 2024
Cowboy Artists Of America Joe Beeler Foundation TX$438,461 President $250 $286 2023
Worcester Educational Development Founda MA$438,392 Executive Director And Vp $18,575 $19,124 2023
Growth Through Learning Inc MA$445,932 Executive Director $91,210 $88,859 2025
I Have A Dream Foundation - Milwaukee WI$436,455 Executive Director $30,692 $36,724 2023
Cement And Concrete Workers Scholarship NY$446,459 Interim Fund Admin-thru 7/2024 $50,894 $51,178 2024
Envision Greater Fond Du Lac WI$446,728 President/ceo $6,319 $7,344 2024
Carthage R-9 School Foundation MO$435,794 Executive Di $22,500 $25,836 2025
Advertising Club Of New York Foundation NY$435,382 President & Ceo $17,278 $17,887 2023
Bel-aire Community Partners SC$434,822 Executive Director $28,500 $33,087 2024
Global Citizen Adventure Corps TN$433,898 Co-president/ Ceo $39,400 $46,087 2024
Community Catholic Center Inc KY$449,351 Executive Director $53,560 $64,035 2024
Atlas Fellows Inc IL$452,000 Secretary $127,093 $143,151 2023
518 Elevated Inc NY$454,437 Executive Di $64,858 $65,220 2024
Wex Foundation TX$455,757 Executive Directorsecretary $24,000 $26,716 2024
Wausau School Foundation Inc WI$456,005 Executive Di $18,750 $22,435 2023
The Heal Los Angeles Foundation CA$456,566 President & Director $110,000 $105,702 2024
The Thillen Education Fdn Inc GA$425,869 Secretary $27,600 $31,794 2023
Squashbridge Inc CT$424,350 Executive Director $46,154 $48,157 2024
Metabrainz Foundation Inc CA$423,273 President/exec Director $120,273 $118,987 2023
Michigan Association Of Broadcasters MI$460,934 President/ceo (Ended 4/24) $10,779 $12,381 2024
China Folk House Retreat Inc VA$421,753 Ceo $54,026 $58,050 2024
Ndoto TX$461,884 Executive Director $69,290 $77,131 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 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 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 default85th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)86th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted88th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted62nd

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 Carberry) 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 214 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B82), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $120,250 is reasonable (approximately the 85th 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.