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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Free & Accepted Masons

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 620842587
TN · NTEE Y42
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Thomas M Thorne, Executive Director / CEO ($3,300) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 80 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 39th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Thomas M Thorne — reported title “Treasurer”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

80 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 80 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$76 total compensation of comparable organizations → $140,587 $3,300
$49110th
$1,49225th
$5,389Median
$14,62775th
$38,93790th
$3,300This org · 39th
p10$491
p25$1,492
p50$5,389
p75$14,627
p90$38,937
$3,300

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 TN 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
Stratford Corporation OH$73,388 Business Manager $85,805 $84,230 2025
B C And T Local 334 Retiree Health Plan ME$73,205 Trustee $12,000 $11,137 2025
Harmony Cemetery Corporation MA$73,747 Clerk $2,995 $2,560 2024
Swedish Cemetery Inc CT$72,764 Caretaker $1,225 $1,093 2024
West Lambert Water Association MS$75,064 Secretary $14,528 $14,997 2025
St Augusta Firefighters Relief MN$71,550 President $100 $94 2024
Hawaii Medical Service Association HI$75,783 Trustee $113,199 $96,417 2024
Washington Lodge 17 Fop PA$70,323 President $595 $582 2023
Jewish Cemetery Association Of Greater Waterbury Inc CT$70,081 Executive Director $11,000 $10,102 2023
St John's Cemetery At Springfield DE$69,714 Treasurer $1,200 $1,118 2024
Hayes Lemmerz Non-union Retiree IL$69,654 Chairperson $4,000 $3,741 2024
The Cemetery Corporation SC$69,578 Secretary $20,642 $21,092 2023
Knights Templar Of The United States Of America IL$77,407 Grand Recorder $6,000 $5,467 2025
Rising Sun Cemetery Association IN$69,157 Superintendent $37,440 $37,562 2024
Walnut Grove Cemetery OH$77,574 President $447 $464 2023
Hopewell Cemetery AL$69,049 Secretary $29,414 $31,124 2023
Law Enforcement Alliance Of CT$68,743 President $2,500 $2,230 2024
Orchard Grove Cemetery Association ME$68,664 Member At Large $3,775 $3,596 2024
Charture Institute WY$78,721 Executive Di $60,000 $61,123 2024
Lower Valley Union Cemetary Association NJ$67,685 Superintendent $10,587 $8,761 2025
Benevolent & Protective Order Of Elks Lodge 1318 SC$67,575 Riverpark Assistant $15,000 $14,503 2025
Grand Order Of The Eastern Star Of Virginia Pha VA$67,327 Grand Secretary $6,350 $6,006 2023
Jernberg Steelworkers Retiree Health PA$79,448 Committee Member $1,000 $949 2024
Middle Creek Cemetery Association Inc TN$79,467 Secretary $12,500 $12,869 2023
The Amt Health Benefits Trust VA$79,661 President $55,862 $51,313 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TN 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 TN 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 default39th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)38th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted46th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted39th

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 (Thomas M Thorne) 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 80 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (Y), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $3,300 is reasonable (approximately the 39th 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.