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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Forward Foundation Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 391571083
WI · NTEE S31Z
FY ending 2025-02-28
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Angela Pakes, Executive Director / CEO ($6,011) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 102 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 7th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Angela Pakes — reported title “President (until 3/1/24)”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

102 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 102 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,150 total compensation of comparable organizations → $235,932 $6,011
$13,26310th
$33,56425th
$66,331Median
$96,56675th
$129,03190th
$6,011This org · 7th
p10$13,263
p25$33,564
p50$66,331
p75$96,566
p90$129,031
$6,011

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 WI 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
Redec Relending Corporation NY$357,766 President $9,491 $8,429 2024
Okmulgee Area Development Corp OK$354,623 Former Exec Dir $25,600 $27,705 2024
The Experience Community Development Corp CA$353,065 Crawford, Director $51,624 $43,813 2024
Havenwoods Neighborhood Partnership Inc WI$349,541 Executive Director $86,084 $90,972 2023
Stockyards Preservation Foundation Of Fort Worth TX$349,457 Secretary & Treasurer $6,000 $5,899 2024
Borderplex Bi-national Economic TX$365,089 Ceo $13,770 $13,538 2024
District 6 Planning Council MN$365,848 Executive Director $92,872 $90,194 2024
The Urban Conservancy LA$346,884 Executive Director $106,463 $115,220 2024
Plano Improvement Corporation TX$344,804 President $63,191 $62,127 2024
St Bernard Economic Development Foundat LA$343,130 Ceo $130,500 $145,406 2023
Maya Economic Development Corporation NE$371,950 Ceo/director $1,057 $1,150 2023
Springfield Cultural Partnership Inc MA$340,593 Exec Director $93,855 $80,757 2025
Renewable Manufactuing Gateway PA$340,108 Executive Director $87,400 $85,663 2024
West Lakes Partnership Inc FL$339,188 Executive Di $89,000 $82,175 2024
Boston Farms Community Land Trust Inc MA$374,952 Clerk $89,071 $84,312 2022
West Line Corridor Collaborative CO$337,562 Executive Director $108,000 $101,784 2024
Bee Area Partnership Inc TX$336,125 Ceo $143,750 $145,504 2023
Black Dollar Days Task Force WA$380,149 Executive Dir. $36,400 $32,030 2024
Washington Heights And Inwood NY$332,663 Executive Director $115,195 $105,330 2023
Penn's Northeast Inc PA$332,073 President/ceo $140,538 $134,196 2025
Vaya Verde NM$328,170 Executive Di $68,731 $74,802 2023
Building Community Value MI$386,387 Director $100,000 $101,447 2024
Brightwood Development Corporation MA$327,011 Clerk $16,300 $14,821 2023
Opportunity Transformation Investments IL$326,850 President $30,240 $29,220 2024
Spoon River Partnership For Economic Development IL$387,684 Executive Director $60,408 $56,865 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WI cost of living and 2025 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 WI 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 default7th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)7th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted19th

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 (Angela Pakes) 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 102 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S31), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $6,011 is reasonable (approximately the 7th 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.