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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Compassion Cafe

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 852220248
NJ · NTEE J33
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Susan Sharkey, Executive Director / CEO ($19,464) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 443 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 20th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Susan Sharkey — reported title “Trustee”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

443 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 443 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$20 total compensation of comparable organizations → $624,929 $19,464
$6,48710th
$24,67425th
$65,634Median
$96,61275th
$138,70290th
$19,464This org · 20th
p10$6,487
p25$24,674
p50$65,634
p75$96,612
p90$138,702
$19,464

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 NJ 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
American Federation Of Teachers NJ$363,650 President $28,880 $28,136 2025
Tri-isle Personal Care Inc HI$363,365 Frm Executive Director $51,808 $51,951 2024
Seminole County Professional FL$363,301 President $18,000 $19,499 2023
Action Research Collaborative Inc NY$365,415 Treasurer $9,500 $9,899 2023
Forest Lake Education Association MN$365,436 President $5,300 $5,866 2024
Northeast Florida Local Apwu FL$362,310 President $82,120 $88,957 2023
We Grow Dreams Inc IL$366,585 Executive Director $30,000 $33,033 2024
United Plant & Production Workers NY$361,646 President $242,494 $245,424 2024
Classified Employees AK$366,877 President $95,791 $102,573 2024
New Mexico Caregivers Coalition NM$367,110 President & Ceo/secretary $94,144 $113,410 2024
Bowling Green State University OH$367,156 President $8,400 $10,259 2023
Diversity Cyber Council Inc GA$367,282 President $37,500 $43,479 2023
Margate Business Association Inc NJ$367,350 Executive Director $76,667 $76,667 2024
Laborers International Union No 662 MO$360,066 President $3,105 $3,683 2024
Chicago Center For Arts And Technology IL$359,049 Sr. Dir. Of Edu. Excellence $168,628 $185,678 2024
Nys Public Employees Conference Inc NY$358,497 Chairman $24,000 $25,008 2023
Metropolitan Electrical Contractors NY$369,881 Treasurer $20,000 $20,840 2023
The Rochester Association NY$358,063 President $8,802 $8,679 2025
Oregon Afscme Council 75 Building OR$357,972 Assocdir\exec Dir $75,249 $80,580 2023
Capital City Career Opportunities I CA$357,126 Executive Director $67,550 $65,330 2024
Music City Construction Careers Inc TN$357,097 Training Director $78,375 $92,271 2024
Santa Rosa Professional Educators Inc FL$357,030 Executive Director $97,218 $102,290 2024
Michigan Indian Employment And MI$356,915 Executive Director $79,830 $95,014 2023
Cyber Proud Inc CA$356,846 President $61,146 $59,137 2024
Urban Bridges OH$371,517 President $28,800 $35,174 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NJ 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 NJ 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 default20th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)21st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted30th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted19th

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 (Susan Sharkey) 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 443 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (J), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $19,464 is reasonable (approximately the 20th 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.