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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Lama Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 850202741
NM · NTEE A70Z
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Paolo Caserta, Executive Director / CEO ($1,008) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 41 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 2nd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Paolo Caserta — 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

41 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 41 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$241 total compensation of comparable organizations → $101,484 $1,008
$11,70710th
$24,88125th
$44,098Median
$57,16175th
$78,12390th
$1,008This org · 2nd
p10$11,707
p25$24,881
p50$44,098
p75$57,161
p90$78,123
$1,008

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 NM 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
Christian Home Educators Assn Of Calif CA$278,232 Treasurer $300 $241 2023
American Comparative Literature IL$285,428 Chief Admin Off $85,586 $78,230 2023
Project Sycamore A Nfp Corporation TX$273,382 Executive Director $84,000 $78,123 2023
Faulkner Morgan Archive KY$288,069 President & Executive Director $52,771 $52,713 2023
Marine Mills Folk School MN$272,489 Pt Exec Dire $23,336 $21,439 2023
Western Political Science Association OR$288,787 Executive Dir. $7,000 $5,870 2024
Atlanta Writers Club GA$289,485 Executive Director $31,500 $29,448 2023
Split This Rock Inc DC$267,649 Director $64,281 $52,446 2023
Helping Link WA$302,762 Executive Director $125,517 $101,484 2024
The Aftermath Project Inc CA$303,880 Secretary $51,000 $40,945 2023
Christian Womens Job Corps Of Tyler Inc TX$305,892 Executive Dir. $71,340 $64,445 2024
Association Of Bookmobile & IA$307,645 Executive Director $46,519 $45,998 2024
Arborlea Study Center TX$308,165 Treasurer $27,752 $25,811 2023
Missoula Writing Collaborative MT$309,975 Prev Exec. Dir. $34,808 $33,884 2024
Living Tongues Institute OR$310,319 President $42,000 $36,264 2023
Roaring Fork Center For Community CO$249,768 Executive Director $52,772 $45,697 2024
Zbigniew Herbert Polish Supplementary School Of Li Inc NY$244,930 Principal/ceo $17,460 $13,881 2025
Archaeology In The Community DC$316,182 Executive Director $54,049 $44,098 2023
The Center For Khmer Studies Inc DC$317,166 President & Ceo $50,000 $40,794 2023
Ether Sea Projects Inc Dba Litmus Press NY$243,647 Executive Dir. $22,000 $17,953 2024
Small Press Traffic Literary Arts Center CA$240,398 Executive Dir. $78,000 $59,257 2025
Northmont Fellowship Association PA$238,368 President $13,000 $11,707 2024
Family Cornerstones Inc TN$237,771 Exec. Director $51,300 $48,697 2024
The Common Acre WA$232,865 Executive Dir. $66,500 $55,355 2023
Oregon Hope Chinese School OR$329,095 President $73,140 $63,150 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NM cost of living and 2023 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 NM 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 default2nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)2nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted2nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted2nd

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 (Paolo Caserta) 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 41 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A70), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $1,008 is reasonable (approximately the 2nd 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.