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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Caja Friends Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 364348705
AL · NTEE I117
FY ending 2024-09-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Laura Kovalcik, Executive Director / CEO ($70,351) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 454 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 72nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Laura Kovalcik — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

454 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 454 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$9 total compensation of comparable organizations → $376,577 $70,351
$19,61410th
$36,84525th
$54,364Median
$72,33575th
$91,73590th
$70,351This org · 72nd
p10$19,614
p25$36,845
p50$54,364
p75$72,335
p90$91,735
$70,351

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 AL 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
Center For Creative Justice IA$260,473 Executive Dir. $67,053 $67,959 2024
Memphis Public Interest Law Center TN$260,545 Executive Director $107,040 $104,147 2024
Windham County Safe Place Child Advocacy VT$259,817 Executive Director And Int $76,927 $71,671 2024
Ft Worth Police Benevolent Assoc TX$259,780 Secretary/treasurer $5,000 $4,510 2025
Clicc Inc CT$259,741 Executive Dir. $80,000 $69,431 2024
Hananiah House TN$260,823 Executive Director And Chair Of The Board $12,000 $11,676 2024
Family Nurturing Center Of Florida FL$259,042 Executive Di $87,307 $78,162 2023
San Joaquin Fair Housing Foundation Inc CA$261,677 Executive Dir. $60,375 $49,682 2023
Mary Alices House Incorporated OH$258,643 Director $55,019 $55,533 2023
Phoenix Legal Action Network AZ$261,916 Executive Director $81,222 $74,440 2023
Chilton County Court Services Inc AL$262,175 Executive Di $46,949 $46,949 2024
Great Lakes Expungement Network MI$258,107 Executive Director $40,516 $38,710 2024
Massachusetts Appleseed Center For Law And Justice MA$257,906 Officer $128,878 $107,200 2024
Peace And Justice Law Center CA$262,696 Co-executive Director $109,999 $87,921 2024
Dekalb County Childrens Policy Council Inc AL$257,583 Member $20,080 $20,080 2024
Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation DC$257,339 Managing Dir $132,000 $107,220 2024
Treatment Accountability For Safer NY$263,175 Executive Di $70,643 $59,088 2024
Yolo Conflict Resolution Center CA$263,331 Executive Director $78,134 $64,296 2023
Oregon Health Justice Center OR$263,336 Attorney/partner $105,769 $90,919 2024
Chebar Ministries Inc GA$263,486 President $5,000 $4,791 2023
Safe Harbor A Children's Justice Center WY$256,887 Executive Director $48,591 $48,163 2024
Generative Somatics CA$256,615 Executive Dir. $83,377 $66,642 2024
St Croix Valley Restorative WI$264,006 Executive Di $71,784 $71,443 2023
Crime Stoppers Of Palm Beach County FL$256,219 Executive Di $25,237 $22,593 2023
New Covenant Legal Services MO$256,169 Executive Di $60,000 $58,824 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AL 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 AL 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 default72nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)65th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted73rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted67th

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 (Laura Kovalcik) 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 454 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (I), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $70,351 is reasonable (approximately the 72nd 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.