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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Pine Cone Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 473256932
CA · NTEE B82
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jenny Hwa, Executive Director / CEO ($50,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 36 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 78th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Jenny Hwa — reported title “PRESIDENT/CFO”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

36 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 36 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,282 total compensation of comparable organizations → $232,645 $50,000
$2,97110th
$6,24425th
$14,429Median
$48,12975th
$70,90590th
$50,000This org · 78th
p10$2,971
p25$6,244
p50$14,429
p75$48,129
p90$70,905
$50,000

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
Printing Industry Assoc Of Ga GA$45,988 Ex-officio $6,933 $8,312 2023
Clean Slate E3 Inc PA$46,304 President $45,261 $52,271 2024
Cahp Foundation Trust CA$46,539 Trustee $41,152 $41,152 2024
Ibew Local 8 Scholarship Fund OH$46,880 Trustee $55,355 $69,903 2023
Illinois Retail Merchants Association IL$47,132 Treasurer $43,138 $49,114 2024
California Association Of Winegrape CA$43,379 Executive Di $18,609 $18,609 2024
Wisconsin State Telecommunications WI$43,175 Treasurer, S $20,190 $25,140 2023
Annie J Maccoll Charitable Trust FL$47,878 Trustee $22,519 $25,222 2023
The John Tramontano Jr Educational PA$42,298 President/tr $14,222 $16,425 2024
Harrison County Educational Foundat KY$48,958 Secretary/tr $6,000 $7,465 2024
The John R Mott Scholarship VA$49,049 Director $2,000 $2,236 2024
Project Zawadi Inc MN$49,152 Executive Direc $5,417 $6,199 2024
Kll Memorial Scholarship Foundation KS$49,336 Treasurer $1,025 $1,282 2024
Nbs Classical Music Institute Inc PA$49,539 Consultant $5,500 $6,539 2023
C J Francis Iii Foundation OH$49,811 Director; Treasurer $1,950 $2,392 2024
Ilpa Scholarships Forever Inc IA$50,432 Executive Di $5,764 $7,524 2023
Vicki Romero Foundation AZ$39,354 President $19,350 $21,551 2024
Airmen Memorial Foundation Inc MD$51,291 Treasurer $8,743 $9,466 2024
Yau High School Sciences Awards MA$51,477 Treasurer/director $9,416 $10,088 2023
Ohio Contractors Association Advancement OH$51,788 Treasurer/secretary $49,422 $60,620 2024
Otho Davis Scholarship Foundat NJ$52,243 Exec Director $20,000 $20,680 2024
Hepburn Bootstrap Foundation Inc WI$52,463 Assistant Secretary $57,748 $71,907 2023
Kathryn Long Scholarship Fund WI$38,095 Co-trustee $3,818 $4,499 2025
Fsa Scholarship Foundation TX$53,115 Executive Director $17,400 $20,752 2023
Wireless Infrastructure Association VA$53,833 President $42,749 $47,801 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA 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 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 default78th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)86th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted97th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted56th

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 (Jenny Hwa) 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 36 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B82), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $50,000 is reasonable (approximately the 78th 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.