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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Pontifex Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 341962347
OH · NTEE E99
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Janis J Nowak, Executive Director / CEO ($52,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 42 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 64th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

How comparable organizations were selected

42 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 42 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$691 total compensation of comparable organizations → $213,719 $52,000
$13,27210th
$32,04725th
$40,254Median
$79,35375th
$117,08790th
$52,000This org · 64th
p10$13,272
p25$32,047
p50$40,254
p75$79,353
p90$117,087
$52,000

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 OH cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateTotal revenueTotal compSource
Forbes Medical Staff FundPA $253,879$40,239 990
Life Resources Of Georgia IncGA $255,952$40,663 990
Trellis Horticultural TherapyGA $239,062$33,195 990
Upper Midlands Rural Health NetworkSC $258,850$93,141 990
C-line Counseling CenterNJ $260,477$13,510 990
Healthy Hearts InstituteCA $262,570$34,940 990
Growing Up TogetherSD $233,422$24,682 990
Giving Health IncGA $263,218$691 990
The Medical Center AuxiliaryPA $265,169$40,268 990
Inteleos Foundation IncMD $267,449$34,945 990
Climatework MaineME $268,900$107,748 990
Servicemembers Undertaking DisabledTX $224,453$77,896 990
Seashore Gardens FoundationNJ $272,798$213,719 990
Holdyou Foundation IncCA $219,511$41,178 990
Harbor Emergency Medical Education FoundationCA $277,634$9,503 990
What To Expect ProjectDC $280,090$106,751 990
Children's Health Foundation IncOR $215,780$6,294 990
Empowering StridesWA $215,474$32,444 990
Northwest Medical Center Foundation IncMO $280,795$28,195 990
Epiphany Project IncAZ $281,911$41,746 990
Wong-baker Faces FoundationOK $206,444$126,227 990
Messengers For HealthMT $292,200$90,198 990
Hooves Of Hope Equestrian Center IncKY $292,364$47,294 990
Asian Health Foundation IncNJ $200,315$41,267 990
Greene County Rural Health Network IncNY $200,278$30,727 990

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 OH 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 default64th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)62nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted67th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted45th

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 (Janis J Nowak) 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 42 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (E99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $52,000 is reasonable (approximately the 64th 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). 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.