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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Hopewell Cemetery

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 800888670
AL · NTEE Y50
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Patricia Hamilton, Executive Director / CEO ($29,414) 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 95th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Patricia Hamilton — 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

$224 total compensation of comparable organizations → $35,498 $29,414
$1,03310th
$1,62525th
$5,019Median
$10,01975th
$17,64690th
$29,414This org · 95th
p10$1,033
p25$1,625
p50$5,019
p75$10,019
p90$17,646
$29,414

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 AL 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
Rising Sun Cemetery Association IN$69,157 Superintendent $37,440 $35,498 2024
The Cemetery Corporation SC$69,578 Secretary $20,642 $19,933 2023
St John's Cemetery At Springfield DE$69,714 Treasurer $1,200 $1,057 2024
Jewish Cemetery Association Of Greater Waterbury Inc CT$70,081 Executive Director $11,000 $9,547 2023
Lower Valley Union Cemetary Association NJ$67,685 Superintendent $10,587 $8,279 2025
Swedish Cemetery Inc CT$72,764 Caretaker $1,225 $1,033 2024
Harmony Cemetery Corporation MA$73,747 Clerk $2,995 $2,420 2024
St James Cemetery Association PA$63,587 President $250 $224 2024
Hurley Cemetery Association NY$62,270 President/treas $8,000 $6,691 2023
Middle Creek Cemetery Association Inc TN$79,467 Secretary $12,500 $12,162 2023
New Woodstock Cemetery Association NY$57,949 Trustee, Sexton $2,000 $1,625 2024
Black Point Cemetery Corporation ME$55,840 Treasurer $4,606 $4,147 2024
Boonville Cemetery Association Inc NY$55,777 President $1,517 $1,232 2024
Highland Memorial Cemetary ME$55,581 Superintende $19,600 $17,646 2024
Independent Benevolent Societ Of Albany NY$55,542 Treasurer $2,000 $1,673 2023
New Oxford Cemetery Association PA$53,324 Treasurer/se $3,500 $3,138 2024
Claggett Cemetery Corporation OR$49,474 Vice President $12,000 $10,019 2024
Sheffield Cemetery Association PA$88,963 Sexton $6,101 $5,632 2023
Mumford Rural Cemetery Association NY$92,598 President $6,000 $5,019 2023
Chevra Ahavas Chesed Inc MD$96,228 Executive Director $15,000 $12,609 2024
Marilla Cemetery Association Inc NY$99,787 President $575 $468 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AL 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 AL 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 default95th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)95th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted95th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted95th

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 (Patricia Hamilton) 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 $29,414 is reasonable (approximately the 95th 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.