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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Burning Man Project

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 452638273
CA · NTEE S20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Marian Goodell, Executive Director / CEO ($390,504) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 50 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 46th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Marian Goodell — reported title “DIRECTOR/CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

50 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 50 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$21,006 total compensation of comparable organizations → $3,401,685 $390,504
$93,74810th
$229,25425th
$444,166Median
$846,74675th
$1,588,54690th
$390,504This org · 46th
p10$93,748
p25$229,254
p50$444,166
p75$846,746
p90$1,588,546
$390,504

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
Avance Inc TX$67,089,102 Houston Executive Director $205,293 $230,996 2024
American Clean Power Association DC$67,498,049 Ceo $2,892,608 $2,855,264 2024
Cincinnati Center City Development Corp OH$65,543,936 President & Ceo $723,959 $862,517 2024
Self-help Ventures Fund NC$67,731,085 Ceodirector $33,733 $40,365 2023
Third Sector New England Inc MA$68,007,933 Ceo $351,547 $355,347 2024
🔒 45 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 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 default46th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)46th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted52nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted36th

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 50-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.