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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Chelsea Black Community

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 861966422
MA · NTEE S20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Joan Cromwell, Executive Director / CEO ($40,460) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 267 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 25th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Joan Cromwell — reported title “President”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

267 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 267 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,067 total compensation of comparable organizations → $186,983 $40,460
$18,35210th
$40,16725th
$67,283Median
$90,08775th
$111,15590th
$40,460This org · 25th
p10$18,352
p25$40,167
p50$67,283
p75$90,087
p90$111,155
$40,460

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 MA 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
Beacon Hill Merchants Association WA$245,489 Director $82,682 $84,810 2023
Flourish Beaver County PA$245,476 Chief Executive Officer $132,624 $147,179 2024
Next Level Leaders Inc AL$246,248 Executive Di $57,200 $70,799 2023
Hartford Next Inc CT$243,686 Executive Dir. $8,865 $9,250 2024
Ocean Parkway Community Development Corp NY$247,942 Executive Director $12,151 $12,219 2024
Hostel Detroit MI$242,893 Director $68,470 $78,646 2024
Greater Bethel Community Development Corporation NY$248,332 Executive Director $30,000 $30,167 2024
Ashland Senior Community Centerinc WI$242,767 Executive Di $41,132 $49,215 2023
Nogales Community Development Corp AZ$242,518 Interim Exec Director $50,000 $55,092 2023
Bolinas Community Inc CA$248,817 Secretary $21,868 $21,013 2024
Fiesta Nky Inc KY$248,893 President $75,000 $89,669 2024
Workwell CO$249,042 Board Member $106,525 $117,026 2023
Citizens For Progress Inc TX$242,066 Executive Director $80,379 $92,118 2023
Central Community Association Inc LA$242,015 President $2,934 $3,595 2024
Keep Durham Beautiful Inc NC$249,590 Executive Director $108,293 $128,198 2023
Northville Community Chamber Of Commerce MI$249,595 Executive Director $76,373 $85,462 2025
Univercity Family Community Development Corporation TN$250,000 Executive Director $30,000 $35,092 2024
Pine Hill Indian Community Development Initiative SC$250,000 Board Member $23,756 $26,869 2025
Center For The Empowerment Of Families Inc CA$240,965 Executive Director $16,450 $16,274 2023
Bethel Community Transformation Center MI$240,889 Executive Director $34,823 $39,998 2024
Select Cobb Inc GA$250,355 Executive Director $28,018 $31,350 2024
Belle Haven Action CA$240,543 President& D $29,162 $28,850 2023
Grinding Stone Collective Inc NY$240,267 Ceo And Board Vice President $91,800 $92,312 2024
One Economy Financial Development Corp IA$251,013 Executive Director $87,923 $107,131 2024
Good Beginnings Inc NH$239,827 Executive Di $48,620 $49,959 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MA 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 MA 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 default25th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)30th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted28th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted22nd

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 (Joan Cromwell) 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 267 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $40,460 is reasonable (approximately the 25th 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.