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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Spirit Of Columbia Gardens Carousel

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 810512992
MT · NTEE N32
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Ed Curran, Executive Director / CEO ($31,570) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 23 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 43rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Ed Curran — reported title “VICE PRESIDENT”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

23 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 23 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$199 total compensation of comparable organizations → $182,495 $31,570
$90910th
$11,04925th
$36,308Median
$66,75175th
$94,32090th
$31,570This org · 43rd
p10$909
p25$11,049
p50$36,308
p75$66,751
p90$94,320
$31,570

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 MT 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
White Rock Lake Conservancy Inc TX$182,378 Director $45,000 $41,759 2024
Friends Of Jackson Park CA$192,511 Executive Director $45,325 $36,308 2024
Club Mesabi Inc MN$195,410 Executive Director $60,000 $55,000 2024
Challis Golf And Recreation Association ID$200,019 Clubhouse Mgr $15,879 $15,671 2024
Friends Of The Fort Collins Bicycle Program Inc CO$200,330 Executive Director Until 91 $65,393 $59,889 2023
Montana State Parks Foundation MT$210,237 Executive Director $77,241 $75,250 2025
Morrison County Recreational Trails Asso MN$143,433 President $217 $199 2024
The Faribault Ice Arena Association MN$233,841 President $34,257 $32,330 2023
Ocmulgee National Park & Preserve GA$234,575 Executive Di $76,000 $72,986 2023
Mendocino Area Parks Association CA$235,492 Vice President $34,994 $28,861 2023
David Allen Memorial Ballpark Inc OK$236,278 Executive Director $97,000 $99,087 2024
Los Angeles River State Park Partners CA$239,039 Executive Director $73,376 $60,515 2023
Ranger Snowmobile Atv Club Inc MN$240,822 President $1,225 $1,156 2023
Grand Marais Sno-trails Association MI$130,644 President $516 $494 2024
Friends Of Sp Dinsmoor's Garden Of Eden Inc KS$130,604 Executive Director $25,000 $25,056 2024
Kidron Community Park Inc OH$127,210 President $2,385 $2,283 2025
Montana Skatepark Association MT$246,471 President $7,500 $7,722 2023
Grand Rapids Whitewater Inc MI$247,817 President/ce $185,120 $182,495 2023
Lititz Springs Park Inc PA$258,164 Treasurer $916 $847 2024
Scott Community Golf Course Inc KS$270,783 Employee $55,312 $57,073 2023
Parkway Council Foundation PA$271,602 Executive Di $115,000 $109,532 2023
Mccoy Farm And Gardens TN$274,627 Employee Executive Director $75,000 $73,135 2024
American Academy For Park And WA$277,983 Executive Di $17,307 $14,375 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MT 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 MT 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 default43rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)39th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted43rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted43rd

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 (Ed Curran) 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 23 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (N32), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $31,570 is reasonable (approximately the 43rd 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.