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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Forbes Avenue Foundation Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 824121313
PA · NTEE A70
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of James Demasi, Executive Director / CEO ($93,250) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 45 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 87th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: James Demasi — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

45 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 45 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$934 total compensation of comparable organizations → $126,278 $93,250
$10,16610th
$38,06325th
$61,778Median
$81,44075th
$96,24690th
$93,250This org · 87th
p10$10,166
p25$38,063
p50$61,778
p75$81,440
p90$96,246
$93,250

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 PA 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
Inquirefirst CA$502,929 President/tr $91,000 $80,882 2024
Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Fe IN$485,251 Executive Dir $80,000 $89,402 2023
Global Writes Inc NY$480,751 Co-president $35,000 $33,515 2023
7000 Languages Inc MA$465,722 Executive Director $103,267 $95,517 2024
Mcct Inc MI$462,177 Executive Director $66,029 $72,222 2023
Kundiman Inc NY$527,543 Executive Director Until 6/2024 $34,462 $32,054 2024
Norfolk Forum Incorporated VA$533,211 Executive Director $45,313 $43,873 2025
Oregon Potters Association OR$535,230 President $949 $934 2023
Foundation For The Future Of Literature CA$537,373 Prog. Director $2,100 $1,867 2024
Brooklyn Poets Inc NY$446,278 Treasurer $63,965 $61,252 2023
New Literary Project CA$443,947 Executive Director $138,000 $126,278 2023
Opportunity Music Project NY$443,898 Executive Dir. $66,146 $63,341 2023
Teachers & Writers Collaborative Inc NY$545,015 Executive Director $78,699 $73,198 2024
Charlotte Center For Literary Arts Inc NC$436,282 Co-founder, Executive Director $77,950 $82,903 2024
System For Education Empowerment And Success TX$430,337 President $36,968 $38,063 2024
Verde Valley Archaeology Center AZ$426,652 Executive Director $90,000 $91,723 2023
Greek School Of Plato Ltd NY$568,259 Executive Dir. $52,708 $49,025 2024
Riverbend Equine Therapy OH$575,673 Founder $38,000 $41,427 2024
Metro Community Development Corporation MA$412,397 Director, Executive Director $72,300 $65,150 2025
Fairfield Foundation Of Virginia Inc VA$577,214 Director $44,069 $43,798 2024
Human Agenda CA$579,907 Executive Dir. $92,737 $82,426 2024
Seven Stories Institute NY$586,869 Executive Director $52,580 $48,905 2024
Association Of American Rhodes Scholars VA$400,243 Editor & Director $37,907 $37,674 2024
Spanish Academy CA$390,365 Director $110,500 $101,114 2023
Herstory Writers Network Inc NY$600,652 Executive Dir. $104,000 $96,732 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to PA cost of living and 2025 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 PA 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 default87th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)87th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted87th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted87th

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 (James Demasi) 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 45 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A70), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $93,250 is reasonable (approximately the 87th 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.