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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Cornwell Research Group

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 831938558
VA · NTEE U42
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Nancy Cornwell, Executive Director / CEO ($60,382) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 122 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: Nancy Cornwell — reported title “DIRECTOR”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

122 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 122 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$393 total compensation of comparable organizations → $348,577 $60,382
$11,38710th
$31,17325th
$74,066Median
$112,42575th
$155,93890th
$60,382This org · 43rd
p10$11,387
p25$31,173
p50$74,066
p75$112,425
p90$155,938
$60,382

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 VA 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
Zig Software Foundation NY$459,187 President $102,000 $98,279 2023
Clean Fuels Alliance Foundation MO$457,491 Executive Director $28,321 $31,067 2024
Wisconsin Livestock Identification WI$455,294 Executive Director $93,080 $100,678 2024
Forest Products Society LA$455,150 President $5,000 $5,702 2024
Mindbridge ME$454,768 Executive Director $42,788 $44,374 2024
Cybergreen Institute NY$463,369 Executive Di $106,819 $99,969 2024
Climate Science Legal Defense Fund NY$465,503 Executive Director $103,400 $96,769 2024
Urban Forest Institute CA$451,563 President $90,200 $80,667 2024
Polaris Research Institute Inc CA$450,235 Executive Dir. $241,632 $216,095 2024
International Cryosphere Climate Initiative VT$467,813 President $31,628 $32,970 2024
Rmi Lab Properties Inc CO$444,757 President $30,186 $29,978 2024
South Jersey Dream Center Inc NJ$444,492 Secretary $35,000 $32,365 2024
Reuseum Educational Inc ID$444,424 President/executive Direct $110,961 $125,862 2023
Ben Franklin Technology Partners Corporation PA$475,038 President $23,395 $24,163 2024
Center For Technology Integrity Inc MA$479,024 Acting Executive Director $210,269 $195,694 2024
Center For Maximum Potential TX$479,528 Co-director $76,500 $79,255 2024
Cato Neonatal Innovations Inc FL$481,221 President $18,800 $18,291 2024
Chicago Council On Science & Technology IL$433,477 Director $85,358 $86,912 2024
The Center For Advancing Innovation Inc MD$432,823 Ceo $360,000 $348,577 2024
Map The Gaps WA$485,214 Director $5,000 $4,774 2023
Chattanooga Quantum Collaborative TN$487,500 Ceo $170,000 $185,070 2024
Center For Scientific Integrity Inc NY$429,108 Secretary $11,330 $10,603 2024
Mosaix Global Network AR$427,489 Executive Dir. $104,253 $124,952 2023
Society For Conservation Biology North America Inc WI$427,116 Director Of Operations And Programs $74,200 $80,257 2024
Coalition For Academic Scientific Computation Inc DC$424,207 Executive Director $115,900 $102,620 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VA 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 VA 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)43rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted43rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted37th

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 (Nancy Cornwell) 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 122 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (U), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $60,382 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.