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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Desca Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 901140936
DE · NTEE U99
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dora Cheatham, Executive Director / CEO ($54,900) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 14 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 86th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Dora Cheatham — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

14 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 14 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$498 total compensation of comparable organizations → $169,993 $54,900
$2,23810th
$6,47025th
$21,669Median
$33,94475th
$62,47490th
$54,900This org · 86th
p10$2,238
p25$6,470
p50$21,669
p75$33,944
p90$62,474
$54,900

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 DE 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
Science Atl Inc GA$36,796 Executive Co-director $4,598 $4,722 2023
Rube Goldberg Inc NY$35,531 President $6,000 $5,537 2023
Oregon Innovation Foundation OR$35,350 Chairman $50,400 $46,429 2024
American Oil Chemists' Society Foundatio IL$41,308 Chief Executive Officer $26,569 $25,911 2024
Smart Manufacturing Leadership Consortium FL$42,935 Director $74,418 $69,350 2024
Tortora Brayda CA$43,866 Secretary & Treasurer $34,400 $29,466 2024
Uplands Science & Technology IN$30,000 Ceo $162,500 $169,993 2024
Internet Systems Consortium Inc NH$27,409 President $37,399 $34,256 2024
Alward Institute For Collaborative WA$26,036 Executive Director $12,000 $10,658 2024
Icak Inc MO$25,719 Ic Chair $1,116 $1,173 2024
Future Of Plastics Foundation DC$25,682 Secretary $36,829 $33,006 2023
Scbio Foundation SC$25,000 President & Ceo $8,700 $9,269 2023
International Technology Center NC$53,068 President $472 $498 2023
Northwest Food Processors Education And OR$55,370 President & Treasurer $19,417 $17,426 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to DE cost of living and 2023 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 DE 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 default86th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)86th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted93rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted50th

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 (Dora Cheatham) 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 14 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (U), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $54,900 is reasonable (approximately the 86th 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.