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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Friends Of Big Marsh

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 473175104
IL · NTEE N12
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Paul Fitzgerald, Executive Director / CEO ($77,592) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 18 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: Paul Fitzgerald — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

18 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 18 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$4,594 total compensation of comparable organizations → $169,154 $77,592
$24,56410th
$30,62225th
$48,813Median
$82,45175th
$149,16190th
$77,592This org · 72nd
p10$24,564
p25$30,622
p50$48,813
p75$82,451
p90$149,161
$77,592

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 IL 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
Texas High School Girls Coaches Association Inc TX$482,813 Executive Director $160,761 $158,880 2024
Panamerican Taekwondo TX$466,057 President $60,000 $59,298 2024
National Parks Of New York Harbor NY$455,439 President/ceo $135,443 $120,920 2024
West Michigan Hockey Youth Foundation Inc MI$441,990 Executive Director (Part Year) $35,385 $36,085 2024
World Cup Dreams Foundation UT$541,535 Executive Dir. $42,500 $42,976 2024
Together For Wichita Foundation KS$542,966 President $23,500 $25,083 2024
Georgia Tennis Foundation Inc GA$545,173 Executive Director $23,507 $23,352 2024
Lower Richland Alumni Foundation SC$554,522 President $29,231 $30,128 2024
Charley Hoffman Foundation CA$415,334 Executive Dir. $45,000 $37,401 2025
Amateur Athletics Commission WA$566,610 Executive Director $98,563 $87,184 2024
The Climate Initiative ME$569,807 Executive Di $146,562 $144,996 2024
San Jose Parks Foundation CA$388,539 Executive Dir. $80,000 $68,251 2024
Utah Mountain Sports Academy UT$610,331 Director $59,000 $59,660 2024
Atlanta Track Club Foundation Inc GA$366,958 President $170,276 $169,154 2024
Southern Nevada Sports Hall Of Fame NV$353,441 Executive Di $55,183 $54,650 2024
Hype Helping Youth Participate & GA$345,060 President $4,625 $4,594 2024
Old West Special Trails Inc TN$678,233 President $29,460 $31,498 2023
Killington Mountain Foundation Inc VT$730,361 Executive Director $30,500 $30,330 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL 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 IL 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)67th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted72nd
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 (Paul Fitzgerald) 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 18 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (N12), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $77,592 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.