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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Howard Fund

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 813722308
TN · NTEE T20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Maeghan Jones, Executive Director / CEO ($32,548) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 22 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 55th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Maeghan Jones — reported title “PRESIDENT - COMM. FNDN. GR. CHATT.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

22 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 22 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$845 total compensation of comparable organizations → $134,249 $32,548
$3,04610th
$4,67725th
$28,400Median
$49,17275th
$59,06990th
$32,548This org · 55th
p10$3,046
p25$4,677
p50$28,400
p75$49,172
p90$59,069
$32,548

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
Model Transitions Foundation CA$8,273 President/ceo (Started 11/14/22) $3,439 $2,909 2023
Dan River Non-profit Network VA$8,575 Executive Director $62,965 $59,546 2023
Wings Over Memphis Inc TN$8,684 President $4,155 $4,278 2023
De Nosotros Foundation Inc MA$8,745 President $5,610 $4,938 2023
Kay Andrews Educational Foundation FL$7,340 Officer $55,000 $52,681 2022
Afc Public Foundation AZ$7,056 President $924 $845 2024
Ccf Real Estate Holdings 2 CA$7,022 President $66,677 $54,775 2024
Community Vision Inc DC$9,218 President $21,263 $17,751 2024
Faulkner University Foundation AL$6,900 President $48,780 $51,616 2023
Howe Family Foundation KS$9,293 President, Ceo, & Secretary $6,270 $6,444 2024
Otis Wilson Charitable Association IL$9,311 President $4,767 $4,590 2023
Linda And G Arnold Kaufman MD$6,819 President & Public Dir. Until 07/24 $30,197 $26,858 2024
Allen A Bailey Endowment NC$9,405 Exec Dir - N $1,688 $1,708 2023
The Molly Lawson Foundation Inc AZ$6,768 Secretary & Treasurer (Thru 12/23) (Non-voting) $29,610 $27,091 2024
Huhlein Memorial Trust MI$9,758 Co-trustee $4,401 $4,322 2024
Community Foundation Real Estate NC$9,804 Vp & Secretary $29,355 $29,708 2023
Scholnick Family Foundation OH$10,098 Treasurer $40,331 $41,839 2023
Albert L Schultz & Janet A Schultz CA$5,884 Assistant Treasurer (From 5/30/24) $50,736 $41,679 2024
Say Hey Foundation Inc CA$5,556 Treasurer $43,588 $36,864 2023
Goodman Supporting Foundation IL$10,653 Vice President & Treasurer $143,538 $134,249 2024
La Frontera Conservation Fund TX$5,500 Vp/director $101,360 $96,459 2024
The Judith And Michael Berman Foundation MN$10,747 Director $38,377 $37,142 2023

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 default55th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)55th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted55th

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 (Maeghan Jones) 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 22 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (T), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $32,548 is reasonable (approximately the 55th 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.