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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Piston Foundation Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 854373512
CT · NTEE B82
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jeff Mason, Executive Director / CEO ($115,562) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 201 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 93rd percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

201 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 201 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $210,184 $115,562
$7,09810th
$22,47325th
$46,704Median
$74,03375th
$100,30090th
$115,562This org · 93rd
p10$7,098
p25$22,473
p50$46,704
p75$74,033
p90$100,300
$115,562

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 CT 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
Red Legacy Recovery Inc TN$258,828 Executive Director $55,120 $63,619 2023
These Numbers Have Faces OR$259,701 Executive Director $90,000 $91,773 2023
The Education Foundation Inc OH$260,084 Executive Di $25,938 $28,545 2025
Scholarchips Inc DC$261,153 Founder And Executive Directo $99,342 $95,722 2023
Georgia Association Of Realtors GA$255,748 Ceo/ga Assoc. Of Realtors $21,554 $22,518 2025
The Eagan Foundation Incorporated MN$254,993 Executive Di $45,124 $48,959 2023
Missouri Community Health Foundation MO$254,821 Ceo $82,247 $95,653 2023
Raymore-peculiar Public School MO$254,610 Executive Di $55,000 $60,528 2025
Bolivar Educational Advancement MO$262,684 Secretary Tr $5,348 $6,041 2024
Calculated Genius Inc IL$262,815 Executive Director $80,000 $83,883 2024
East Valley Institute Of Technology Education Foundation Inc AZ$262,844 Board Member $14,400 $14,770 2024
Greene County Fair Association Inc AR$263,615 Manager $2,119 $2,540 2024
North Coast Builders Exchange CA$253,168 Chief Executive Officer $17,698 $16,781 2023
Foundation For Eden Prairie Schools MN$264,008 Executive Director $30,541 $32,186 2024
John P Burke Memorial Fund RI$264,645 Executive Director $35,833 $36,646 2024
Shenandoah Valley Scholars Latino Initiative Inc VA$264,770 Managing Director $2,733 $2,814 2024
African American Teaching Fellows VA$264,812 Executive Di $82,442 $84,898 2024
Orme Primavera Schools Foundation AZ$264,877 Treasurer $1,700 $1,699 2025
American Student Association Of Community Colleges UT$264,911 Executive Director $14,584 $17,061 2022
Texas Architectural Foundation TX$264,935 Txa Evp $29,217 $31,171 2024
Kensap Inc NJ$265,787 Executive Director $96,000 $94,117 2023
Germantown Community Scholarship Fund Inc WI$267,938 Executive Director $34,000 $38,989 2023
Tbi Warrior Foundation TX$268,167 President $7,000 $7,689 2023
Davis-putter Scholarship Fund NY$248,369 Executive Of $104,072 $100,300 2024
The Claymont Foundation Inc OH$268,956 Financial Secretary $6,000 $6,778 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CT 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 CT 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 default93rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)95th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted68th

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 (Jeff Mason) 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 201 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B82), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $115,562 is reasonable (approximately the 93rd 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.