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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Zarlengo Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 800015548
CO · NTEE T22
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Kathryn Zarlengo, Executive Director / CEO ($95,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 33 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 91st percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

33 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 33 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$203 total compensation of comparable organizations → $136,223 $95,000
$5,04010th
$9,43025th
$31,251Median
$66,73675th
$93,79690th
$95,000This org · 91st
p10$5,040
p25$9,430
p50$31,251
p75$66,736
p90$93,796
$95,000

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 CO 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
Worcester Public Library Foundation MA$370,266 Executive Director/clerk $100,957 $94,612 2024
Hand Up For Women TN$351,607 Executive Director $68,870 $77,726 2023
Parson Of The Hills Foundation Inc NC$373,789 Ceo Director $52,008 $57,698 2023
Abny Foundation Inc NY$382,348 Ceo & Secretary $8,750 $8,489 2023
Ironworkers Local 782 Joint KY$382,411 Trustee $906 $1,015 2024
Ridgecrest Foundation Inc IA$383,077 Ceo $45,574 $50,699 2025
Jimmie Johnson Foundation NC$383,978 Executive Director $81,953 $88,311 2024
Leadership Perimeter Inc GA$339,391 Executive Di $90,600 $95,004 2024
Hope Christian Services Foundation Inc NJ$388,812 Ceo $16,806 $15,649 2024
Norman A & Susan L Pappas Family MI$330,349 Secretary $26,189 $28,191 2024
The John And Clara Brady Family LA$397,568 Director $58,114 $66,736 2024
Blackacre Conservancy Inc KY$326,500 Executive Director $70,000 $80,748 2023
Terrebonne Foundation For Academic LA$326,465 Executive Director $56,000 $64,308 2024
Msda Charitable And Educational MD$322,375 Executive Director $5,360 $5,226 2024
Grantmakers Of Oregon And Sw Washington OR$310,685 President/ceo $136,621 $136,223 2023
The Trauma Foundation WA$417,300 Executive Dir. $60,000 $57,677 2023
Delaware Preservation Fund Inc DE$304,850 Program Director $4,890 $4,993 2024
Chris Evert Charities Inc FL$419,846 Director $39,899 $39,089 2024
Clearwater Clear Lake Food Shelf MN$426,854 Director $10,400 $10,717 2024
The Schweitzer Family Foundation TX$427,102 Treasurer $29,957 $31,251 2024
Bonny Lea Charitable Foundation $294,876 Executive Director $98,872 $98,872 2024
Cassie Hines Shoes Cancer Foundation Inc MI$294,164 Vice President - Executive Director $13,350 $14,794 2023
Southeastern Pa Intergroup PA$286,727 Office Manager $62,720 $65,229 2024
Sauganash Foundation NY$280,083 Trustee $29,400 $28,524 2023
Anna's Celebration Of Life IN$275,464 Director $51,688 $56,846 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CO 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 CO 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 default91st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)91st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted91st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted64th

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 (Kathryn Zarlengo) 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 33 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (T22), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $95,000 is reasonable (approximately the 91st 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.