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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Common Ground Outdoor Adventures

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 841385181
UT · NTEE P80
FY ending 2025-09-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Samantha Macfarlane, Executive Director / CEO ($125,097) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 297 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 94th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Samantha Macfarlane — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

297 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 297 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,732 total compensation of comparable organizations → $380,066 $125,097
$22,55210th
$46,88125th
$63,633Median
$84,65875th
$106,78090th
$125,097This org · 94th
p10$22,552
p25$46,881
p50$63,633
p75$84,658
p90$106,780
$125,097

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 UT 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
Mission To El Salvador PA$481,233 Executive Di $42,334 $42,340 2024
C & L A Support Service Inc FL$481,042 Executive Director $57,700 $52,961 2025
The Anika Foundation MN$483,946 Executive Director $67,761 $69,134 2023
Stone-hayes Center For Independent Living IL$480,688 Executive Director $57,636 $56,828 2024
Nenana Tortella Council On Aging AK$485,329 Activity Director $123,353 $115,226 2025
Sowhope Org MI$479,496 Corp President And Ceo $85,000 $90,589 2023
Passages Women's Transitional Living Inc SD$487,200 Executive Director $55,104 $60,992 2024
Touchstone Farm Inc NH$475,750 Executive Director $68,000 $62,972 2024
Asi Capitola Inc MN$475,700 President $65,715 $67,046 2023
The Ql Plus Program VA$489,531 Executive Dir./secretary $141,706 $137,222 2024
Hearts And Hands Faith In Action NY$474,418 Executive Director $85,397 $77,391 2024
Jewish Los Angeles Special Needs CA$490,602 Executive Dir. $76,150 $67,895 2023
Xquisite NV$471,984 Executive Di $88,300 $88,767 2024
Institute For Affordable Transportation IN$471,165 Executive Director $88,616 $93,723 2024
The Alexander House Apostolate TX$468,758 President And Ceo $88,743 $89,029 2024
Arizona Caregiver Coalition Inc AZ$468,536 Executive Director Until 7/1/24 $35,038 $34,793 2023
Bring On The Spectrum Inc NY$468,382 Ceo $39,192 $35,518 2024
Neighborhood Outreach Connection SC$497,448 Executive Director $69,167 $72,368 2024
Southeast Community Development CA$466,328 Executive Di $83,589 $74,528 2023
American Association Of Adapted Sports GA$463,772 Executive Dir. $109,894 $110,819 2024
Childsafe Center - Cac VA$463,134 Executive Director $87,071 $84,316 2024
Single Mothers Outreach Inc CA$463,057 Executive Director $94,269 $81,638 2024
Women's Fund Of Greater Milwaukee Inc WI$502,859 Executive Director $155,341 $162,705 2024
One Life WA$461,467 Ceo $25,400 $23,481 2023
Alternative Pathways MI$503,546 Director $46,118 $47,740 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to UT 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 UT 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 default94th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)94th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted94th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted86th

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 (Samantha Macfarlane) 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 297 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (P80), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $125,097 is reasonable (approximately the 94th 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.