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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Herland Forest

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 465126450
WA · NTEE Y50
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Walt Patrick, Executive Director / CEO ($42,213) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 33 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 85th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

How comparable organizations were selected

33 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 33 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,673 total compensation of comparable organizations → $72,537 $42,213
$4,72710th
$11,65925th
$19,179Median
$31,38175th
$58,16490th
$42,213This org · 85th
p10$4,727
p25$11,659
p50$19,179
p75$31,381
p90$58,164
$42,213

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

OrganizationStateTotal revenueTotal compSource
Care And Maintenance Trust Fund Of SixSC $201,644$19,066 990
Bellefontaine Cemetery SocietyIN $204,089$21,566 990
Jewish Cemetery Association Of GreaterCT $204,847$24,718 990
Brenham Cemetery AssociationTX $208,612$72,537 990
Cutler Cremation Company IncNY $192,571$35,685 990
Elmwood Cemetery CompanyIL $190,632$2,285 990
Chevra Kadisha Of AllianceNJ $213,934$23,327 990
Miami Cemetery AssnOH $188,773$60,817 990
Steere Family Ri Historical Cemetery #29RI $214,803$2,855 990
Public Cemetery Of CullmanAL $215,326$7,240 990
Sedona Community Cemetery AssociationAZ $187,616$64,994 990
Mount Lawn Cemetery Association IncNC $218,536$55,396 990
Pennville Ioof Twin Hills CemeteryIN $219,726$15,319 990
Hillington CrematoryNY $222,706$22,918 990
Eureka Cemetery & Mausoleum AssnOR $179,008$4,382 990
Indiana Funeral Education Foundation IncIN $178,450$58,856 990
The Cemetery Association Of The JewishNJ $177,465$11,624 990
Greensprings Natural Cemetary AssociationNY $230,716$31,381 990
Santa Gertrudis Memorial Cemetery IncTX $231,507$36,813 990
Trice Hill Cemetery AssocOK $234,249$1,673 990
Overlook Cemetery AssociationNJ $169,286$21,939 990
Oxford Cemetery AssociationPA $162,842$27,545 990
Venice Cemetery AssnOH $247,636$34,357 990
Acton Cemetery IncTX $155,556$13,407 990
Rural Cemetery Assoc Of Hornellsville N YNY $255,410$11,659 990

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 WA 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 default85th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)85th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted88th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted79th

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 (Walt Patrick) 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 33 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (Y50), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $42,213 is reasonable (approximately the 85th 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.