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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Forged By Fire Services

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 874164066
LA · NTEE K36
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Paul Ernewein, Executive Director / CEO ($13,570) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 21 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 5th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Paul Ernewein — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

21 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 21 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$11,833 total compensation of comparable organizations → $77,584 $13,570
$26,54310th
$30,61125th
$48,499Median
$60,14475th
$64,38890th
$13,570This org · 5th
p10$26,543
p25$30,611
p50$48,499
p75$60,144
p90$64,388
$13,570

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 LA 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
Meals-on-wheels Of White Plains Inc NY$292,506 Executive Director $78,461 $64,388 2024
Mobile Meals Foundation OH$285,622 Secretary $11,949 $11,833 2023
Meals On Wheels Of Evansville Inc IN$274,945 Executive Director $27,715 $26,543 2024
Bloomington Meals On Wheels Inc IN$314,735 Executive Dir. $42,662 $42,064 2023
Hope Partners Of CT$257,384 Executive Di $68,495 $58,323 2024
Mechanicsburg Area Meals On Wheels PA$256,422 Executive Di $31,555 $28,578 2024
Pampa Meals On Wheels Inc TX$250,156 Executive Di $30,225 $28,269 2023
Centerburg Senior Services Inc OH$246,902 Executive Di $39,648 $38,136 2024
Senior Services Consortium MN$338,738 Executive Director $83,916 $77,527 2023
Meals On Wheels The Crossroads PA$341,965 Executive Di $66,692 $60,399 2024
Ferndale Senior Resource Agency CA$346,396 Executive Direc $67,950 $53,286 2024
Valley Meals On Wheels Inc ID$349,183 Coordinator $43,561 $42,084 2024
Meals On Wheels Of Greater Newburgh Inc NY$228,415 Director (Retired) $19,670 $16,142 2024
Chestnut Hill Meals On Wheels PA$367,980 Executive Di $33,800 $30,611 2024
Warm Blessings Inc KY$380,013 Executive Di $60,109 $60,380 2023
Lawrence Meals On Wheels Inc KS$380,378 Executive Di $54,457 $53,428 2024
Meals Of Virginia Beach Inc VA$385,915 Executive Di $50,900 $44,632 2024
Cleveland Park Village Inc DC$390,013 Executive Director $97,353 $77,584 2024
Valley Meals And More CO$392,440 Executive Director $65,270 $58,517 2023
State College Area Meals On Wheels PA$425,036 Executive Director $66,410 $60,144 2024
Meals On Wheels Of Western Broome Inc NY$436,624 Executive Director $59,100 $48,499 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to LA 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 LA 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 default5th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)5th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted5th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted0th

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 (Paul Ernewein) 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 21 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (K36), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $13,570 is reasonable (approximately the 5th 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.