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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Cemetery Corporation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 570828988
SC · NTEE Y50
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Elizabeth W Cain, Executive Director / CEO ($20,642) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 21 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 90th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Elizabeth W Cain — reported title “Secretary”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

21 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 21 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$232 total compensation of comparable organizations → $36,760 $20,642
$1,07010th
$1,68325th
$5,197Median
$10,37675th
$18,27390th
$20,642This org · 90th
p10$1,070
p25$1,683
p50$5,197
p75$10,376
p90$18,273
$20,642

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 SC 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
St John's Cemetery At Springfield DE$69,714 Treasurer $1,200 $1,094 2024
Rising Sun Cemetery Association IN$69,157 Superintendent $37,440 $36,760 2024
Jewish Cemetery Association Of Greater Waterbury Inc CT$70,081 Executive Director $11,000 $9,886 2023
Hopewell Cemetery AL$69,049 Secretary $29,414 $30,460 2023
Lower Valley Union Cemetary Association NJ$67,685 Superintendent $10,587 $8,574 2025
Swedish Cemetery Inc CT$72,764 Caretaker $1,225 $1,070 2024
Harmony Cemetery Corporation MA$73,747 Clerk $2,995 $2,506 2024
St James Cemetery Association PA$63,587 President $250 $232 2024
Hurley Cemetery Association NY$62,270 President/treas $8,000 $6,929 2023
Middle Creek Cemetery Association Inc TN$79,467 Secretary $12,500 $12,595 2023
New Woodstock Cemetery Association NY$57,949 Trustee, Sexton $2,000 $1,683 2024
Black Point Cemetery Corporation ME$55,840 Treasurer $4,606 $4,294 2024
Boonville Cemetery Association Inc NY$55,777 President $1,517 $1,276 2024
Highland Memorial Cemetary ME$55,581 Superintende $19,600 $18,273 2024
Independent Benevolent Societ Of Albany NY$55,542 Treasurer $2,000 $1,732 2023
New Oxford Cemetery Association PA$53,324 Treasurer/se $3,500 $3,250 2024
Sheffield Cemetery Association PA$88,963 Sexton $6,101 $5,832 2023
Claggett Cemetery Corporation OR$49,474 Vice President $12,000 $10,376 2024
Mumford Rural Cemetery Association NY$92,598 President $6,000 $5,197 2023
Chevra Ahavas Chesed Inc MD$96,228 Executive Director $15,000 $13,057 2024
Marilla Cemetery Association Inc NY$99,787 President $575 $484 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to SC 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 SC 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 default90th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)90th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted90th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted90th

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 (Elizabeth W Cain) 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 21 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (Y50), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $20,642 is reasonable (approximately the 90th 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.