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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Sedona Community Cemetery Association

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 860661136
AZ · NTEE Y50
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Steve Earl, Executive Director / CEO ($62,292) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 34 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 97th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Steve Earl — 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

34 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 34 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$94 total compensation of comparable organizations → $69,523 $62,292
$1,87610th
$7,98925th
$15,810Median
$29,15775th
$49,30390th
$62,292This org · 97th
p10$1,876
p25$7,989
p50$15,810
p75$29,157
p90$49,303
$62,292

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 AZ 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
Miami Cemetery Assn OH$188,773 Superintendent $54,328 $58,290 2025
Elmwood Cemetery Company IL$190,632 Treasurer $2,081 $2,190 2023
Cutler Cremation Company Inc NY$192,571 President $36,400 $34,201 2024
Eureka Cemetery & Mausoleum Assn OR$179,008 Director $4,350 $4,200 2024
Indiana Funeral Education Foundation Inc IN$178,450 Executive Director $51,444 $56,410 2024
The Cemetery Association Of The Jewish NJ$177,465 Executive Vp $12,000 $11,140 2024
Care And Maintenance Trust Fund Of Six SC$201,644 Csa President $14,229 $15,435 2024
Herland Forest WA$201,786 President $42,213 $40,459 2023
Bellefontaine Cemetery Society IN$204,089 President $600 $658 2024
Jewish Cemetery Association Of Greater CT$204,847 Executive Director $24,300 $23,691 2024
Overlook Cemetery Association NJ$169,286 President $16,933 $16,184 2023
Brenham Cemetery Association TX$208,612 Treasurer/secretary $66,841 $69,523 2024
Oxford Cemetery Association PA$162,842 Secretary $24,730 $26,400 2023
Chevra Kadisha Of Alliance NJ$213,934 Director $24,082 $22,357 2024
Steere Family Ri Historical Cemetery #29 RI$214,803 President, Treasurer $2,745 $2,737 2024
Public Cemetery Of Cullman AL$215,326 President $6,000 $6,939 2023
Mount Lawn Cemetery Association Inc NC$218,536 Maintenance $48,000 $53,094 2023
Acton Cemetery Inc TX$155,556 Secretary/tr $12,000 $12,850 2023
Pennville Ioof Twin Hills Cemetery IN$219,726 Member $13,390 $14,683 2024
Hillington Crematory NY$222,706 Board Member $22,707 $21,966 2023
Broad Run Baptist Cemetery Association WV$147,810 Vice Chairman $5,200 $5,854 2024
Greensprings Natural Cemetary Association NY$230,716 Cemetery Executive Director $32,010 $30,076 2024
Santa Gertrudis Memorial Cemetery Inc TX$231,507 Board Memberkey Empl $33,922 $35,283 2024
Cutchogue Cemetery Association NY$143,463 Superintendent $15,607 $14,664 2024
Trice Hill Cemetery Assoc OK$234,249 Chairman $1,400 $1,603 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AZ 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 AZ 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 default97th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)97th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted97th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted88th

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 (Steve Earl) 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 34 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (Y50), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $62,292 is reasonable (approximately the 97th 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.