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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Ascension Fund Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 721186479
LA · NTEE T30
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jennifer Defrances, Executive Director / CEO ($41,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 73 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 64th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Jennifer Defrances — reported title “Executive Dir.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

73 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 73 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$323 total compensation of comparable organizations → $237,885 $41,500
$5,24510th
$14,18625th
$32,335Median
$50,47675th
$95,84390th
$41,500This org · 64th
p10$5,245
p25$14,186
p50$32,335
p75$50,476
p90$95,843
$41,500

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 LA 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
Sophia Transformative Leadership WI$105,927 Executive Di $65,958 $60,763 2024
The Kranzberg Foundation MO$106,881 Director $31,092 $29,907 2023
United Way Of Kaufman County TX$107,719 Exe Director $43,218 $38,134 2024
Renaissance Internationalinc FL$102,475 President $20,000 $16,573 2024
Hope Center Foundation Inc KY$110,929 Coo $30,099 $29,367 2023
Suwannee Foundation For Excellence In Education Inc FL$111,572 Secretary/executive Director $17,500 $14,128 2025
Greater New Orleans Hotel & Lodging LA$100,031 Executive Director $24,758 $24,048 2024
Legacy Properties Of The Community IN$112,404 Director $7,357 $6,844 2024
Arise Foundation Inc NY$98,289 Ceo (Through Dec 2024) $17,821 $14,205 2024
Webster Electric Foundation MO$114,101 President $346 $323 2024
Michael & Anita Siegal Family Foundation OH$114,485 Trustee $54,292 $52,222 2023
Neiu Core Foundation PA$114,665 Preseident $118,904 $107,684 2023
Vinfen Corporation Of Larchmont Inc MA$94,515 President (As Of 8/22/22) $2,702 $2,205 2023
Madisonville Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation OH$93,598 Interim Executive Director $1,046 $977 2024
Capital Manor Foundation OR$118,796 Dir. Of Finance $1,916 $1,616 2023
Valeo Foundation KS$119,722 Related Entity Ceo (Thru 8/24) $11,103 $10,580 2024
John And Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation GA$119,908 Interim Ceo (Last Day 5/21/23) $196,325 $179,271 2023
The Gilmour-jirgens Fund MI$91,606 Secretary/treasurer/director $64,903 $59,093 2024
Brooklyn Health Equity Foundation Inc NY$91,567 Chairman $91,000 $72,535 2024
Community Foundation Of The Valleys CA$91,265 Executive Director $17,500 $13,723 2023
Cotton Electric Charitable OK$90,187 Director $176,286 $166,815 2025
Mad Anthony Childrens Foundation IN$89,150 Executive Dir. $34,000 $31,628 2024
Western Reserve Area Agency On Aging OH$88,626 Ceo $41,528 $38,799 2024
Gene Spotlight Inc FL$123,316 President $30,000 $24,860 2024
Foundation For Excellence MI$123,351 Executive Dir. $38,520 $34,167 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to LA 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 LA 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 default64th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)58th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted77th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted27th

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 (Jennifer Defrances) 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 73 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (T30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $41,500 is reasonable (approximately the 64th 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.