Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Firm Foundations Romania

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 273279499
CA · NTEE O50
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sarah Berchtold, Executive Director / CEO ($58,520) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 56 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 39th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

56 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 56 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$4,857 total compensation of comparable organizations → $174,540 $58,520
$19,65310th
$38,56125th
$67,429Median
$92,62775th
$102,90490th
$58,520This org · 39th
p10$19,653
p25$38,561
p50$67,429
p75$92,627
p90$102,904
$58,520

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 CA 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
Reading Legacies CA$414,168 President & $72,135 $72,135 2023
Success Through Academics And Role CA$410,603 President $46,240 $44,913 2024
Every Monday Matters Inc CA$416,604 Chairman/ceo $66,000 $64,106 2024
Football For Her Inc CA$393,827 Executive Di $52,491 $50,985 2024
Transitional Youth Mobilizing For Change CA$434,169 Interim Chair $12,000 $12,000 2023
Reach Bridge Extended Learning Programs Inc CA$388,230 President $93,400 $90,720 2024
Kollab Youth CA$379,747 Ceo $179,695 $174,540 2024
The Village Nation Inc CA$378,833 Founder/ceo $23,990 $23,302 2024
Icanhelp CA$375,849 Ceo $86,667 $84,181 2024
African American Chamber Of San Joaquin Foundation CA$371,277 Ceo/director $69,805 $67,802 2024
Team Kids Inc CA$455,402 Ceo $67,538 $67,538 2023
Aguas Sagradas Inc CA$368,466 Director $63,700 $63,700 2023
Encampment For Citizenship CA$367,995 Executive Director $67,560 $65,622 2024
Truly Reviving Our Youth CA$353,693 Director & President (Cvo) $95,212 $95,212 2023
The Greenhouse CA$348,281 Executive Director (March To Present) $59,913 $58,194 2024
Sola Robotics CA$347,696 Executive Director $57,960 $56,297 2024
Srd-straightening Reins Foundation CA$346,745 Director $35,256 $34,245 2024
Americas Youth Outreach Program CA$481,433 President $96,000 $93,246 2024
Ourtism CA$343,806 Founder $30,414 $30,414 2023
Santa Clara Diving Club CA$343,321 Head Coach $95,150 $92,420 2024
Santa Barbara School Of Squash CA$342,875 Executive Director $106,670 $103,610 2024
East Los Angeles Boys And Girls Club CA$342,376 Executive Director $67,320 $67,320 2023
Levon Ishtoyan Foundation CA$342,158 Treasurer $28,000 $28,000 2023
Fba Academy CA$486,556 Ceo $108,000 $102,198 2025
Fostering Youth Independence CA$335,766 Treasurer $62,000 $62,000 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA 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 CA 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 default39th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)38th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted43rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted95th

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 (Sarah Berchtold) 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 56 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (O50) + CA + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $58,520 is reasonable (approximately the 39th 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.