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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Oped Project Public Knowledge Fund Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 272877151
NY · NTEE B60
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Catherine Orenstein, Executive Director / CEO ($25,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 152 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 18th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

152 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 152 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,195 total compensation of comparable organizations → $286,293 $25,000
$15,95510th
$34,53325th
$64,883Median
$93,01275th
$108,41590th
$25,000This org · 18th
p10$15,955
p25$34,533
p50$64,883
p75$93,012
p90$108,415
$25,000

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 NY 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
Well For The Journey Inc MD$310,084 Executive Di $83,700 $86,597 2024
Adagio Institute Inc TX$311,557 Summers $66,464 $75,748 2023
Stronghold Leadership PA$307,572 Executive Director $93,333 $103,001 2024
Leadership Greater Mchenry County IL$313,863 Executive Di $89,404 $94,761 2025
Hannahs House NJ$314,646 Executive Director $18,240 $18,022 2024
Progress For Good Inc NY$314,802 Founder $31,333 $32,258 2023
Literacy Volunteers Of Greater Waterbury CT$314,920 Executive Director $90,569 $96,751 2023
Leadership Education Mission Alliance Lema Inst MI$315,656 President $70,000 $79,958 2024
Harrison Co Alternative Educ Center IN$304,887 Director $78,750 $94,618 2023
Nowmattersnow Org WA$316,324 President, Treasurer, & Ceo $155,600 $154,167 2024
Florida Council On Crime And Deliqu FL$302,882 Executive Se $15,000 $15,594 2024
Ploughshare Institute For Sustainable TX$319,261 Vice President $21,750 $24,788 2023
The Conservative Agenda Project CT$301,250 President And Director $268,000 $286,293 2023
Virginia Head Start Associationinc VA$321,006 Executive Di $83,888 $89,636 2024
Nevada Water Resources Association NV$298,632 Executive Co $75,529 $83,783 2024
Mindful Birthing And Parenting CA$323,526 Vice President $28,550 $27,282 2024
Instituto Para El Desarrollo Humano PR$297,025 Operations Director $31,925 $32,868 2023
Glw Childrens Council Inc NE$296,492 Director $74,428 $88,589 2024
Epiphany Women In Focus CA$296,387 Ceo $62,000 $60,997 2023
The Boston Society Inc MA$295,315 Executive Di $144,423 $147,864 2023
California State Society For Opticians CA$326,005 Executive Officer $42,600 $40,708 2024
Ct League Of Conservation Voters CT$327,117 President $64,739 $67,174 2024
Starting Now Corporation FL$328,951 Director $72,664 $77,773 2023
Clifford Antone Foundation TX$329,181 Executive Director $68,500 $75,829 2024
Cleveland Empowerment Foundation MS$332,100 Director, Ch $27,217 $34,537 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY 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 NY 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 default18th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)18th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted23rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted15th

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 (Catherine Orenstein) 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 152 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $25,000 is reasonable (approximately the 18th 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.