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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Design Forward Alliance

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 815389496
CA · NTEE S03
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Carlos Cristiani, Executive Director / CEO ($57,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 1760 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 28th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

1,760 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 1,760 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$241 total compensation of comparable organizations → $777,874 $57,000
$19,98410th
$52,20125th
$85,588Median
$121,83075th
$168,95690th
$57,000This org · 28th
p10$19,984
p25$52,201
p50$85,588
p75$121,830
p90$168,956
$57,000

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 CA 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
Mississippi Gaming & Hospitality As MS$382,314 Executive Director $160,417 $213,018 2023
Corrections Usa FL$382,299 Chairman $54,000 $60,483 2023
Home Builder's Association Of St Joseph IN$382,462 Executive Director $69,900 $87,888 2023
Element 8 WA$382,211 Executive Director $89,334 $95,361 2023
Allendale County Alive SC$382,763 Executive Director $41,811 $49,212 2025
Dad Guild Inc VT$382,891 Executive Director $82,455 $93,635 2025
Alabama Cancer Congress MD$383,020 Board Member $2,000 $2,165 2024
Adventist Health Policy Association FL$381,710 President $16,962 $18,998 2023
Cen-tex African American Chamber Of Commerce Inc TX$383,036 Executive Director $71,926 $85,782 2023
Renewable Hydrogen Alliance OR$383,231 Executive Director $77,316 $83,150 2024
Focused Outreach Richmond Inc VA$381,351 Executive Dir. $67,500 $75,477 2024
South Carolina Funeral Directors Association Inc SC$383,410 Executive Director $45,000 $54,367 2024
The Michigan Environmental Council MI$383,497 Former Presi $63,775 $76,232 2024
Mobu Enterprises Foundation Corp GA$383,520 Operations Manager $2,000 $2,398 2023
Operating Engineers Local 4 Building MA$381,168 Director $96,800 $98,140 2025
Leadership Medina County OH$381,116 Executive Director $78,401 $93,686 2025
Peoplecare Center For Nonprofits Inc NJ$383,668 Executive Director $65,838 $68,075 2024
Colorado Springs Forward CO$383,700 Chairman $130,955 $145,419 2024
Madison Village For Advanced GA$380,784 Executive Dir. $29,167 $33,963 2024
The Management Round Table VA$380,750 Interim Executive Director $32,883 $36,769 2024
Communitycare Of Lyme NH$384,156 Executive Director (Former) $19,200 $20,002 2025
79th Street Corridor Neighborhood Initiave Inc FL$380,551 Executive Director $51,054 $55,543 2024
Community Council WA$384,254 Executive Di $110,978 $118,464 2023
Pennsylvania State Association Of PA$384,303 Pres. 10/23- $3,000 $3,465 2024
Main Street Oregon City OR$384,442 Executive Director $68,557 $73,730 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA 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 CA 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 default28th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)34th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted31st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted20th

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 (Carlos Cristiani) 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 1760 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (S), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $57,000 is reasonable (approximately the 28th 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.