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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Western Md Health Sys Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 352289841
MD · NTEE E11
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Karen Johnson, Executive Director / CEO ($202,376) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 110 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 75th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

110 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 110 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$6,635 total compensation of comparable organizations → $6,739,304 $202,376
$24,53110th
$38,69525th
$68,307Median
$197,82375th
$406,28690th
$202,376This org · 75th
p10$24,531
p25$38,695
p50$68,307
p75$197,823
p90$406,286
$202,376

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 MD 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
Cambridge Health Alliance Foundation Inc MA$3,325,426 Ceo/director $50,100 $48,155 2023
The Thomas O'neill Catholic Health MD$3,328,776 President/director/treasurer $57,000 $57,000 2023
Henry County Memorial IN$3,332,194 President $43,500 $47,660 2024
Bethesda Foundation Inc OH$3,332,917 President & Ceo $82,495 $93,458 2023
Mcguire Administrative Services Inc PA$3,235,915 Ceo, President $314,261 $325,595 2024
🔒 105 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 MD 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 MD 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 default75th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)75th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted83rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted20th

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 110-organization comparison, the date, and the percentile finding, ready to paste into your minutes — is included in the purchased report.

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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.