Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Austin Together Fund

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 921954721
TX · NTEE S02
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 13, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Karen Lashelle, Executive Director / CEO ($174,334) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 1757 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 92nd percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Karen Lashelle — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

1,757 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 1,757 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $1,141,345 $174,334
$21,34610th
$51,31925th
$81,154Median
$115,22275th
$160,07790th
$174,334This org · 92nd
p10$21,346
p25$51,319
p50$81,154
p75$115,222
p90$160,077
$174,334

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 TX 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
Illinois Solar Energy Association IL$462,254 Executive Director $119,000 $116,954 2024
Greater Ocean City Golf Association MD$462,314 Managing Director $90,000 $84,115 2024
Community Chest Of Knox Co Inc TN$461,949 President $6,000 $6,305 2024
Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber Of GA$462,685 President & Ceo $124,200 $124,842 2024
Kelso Longview Chamber Of Commerce WA$462,716 Ceo $79,740 $73,477 2023
Bctgm Local Union 167g ND$462,735 President $106,704 $117,061 2024
Cfa Society Of Minnesota MN$462,913 Executive Director $106,721 $108,533 2023
League City Chamber Of Commerce TX$461,383 President/ce $43,077 $44,349 2023
Volta Foundation Inc CA$460,846 Executive Director $70,000 $62,211 2023
Trebic Inc NC$463,665 Director/president $91,705 $94,726 2024
Michigan Economic Developers MI$463,953 Executive Di $117,108 $124,407 2023
Hbcu Cares AL$463,977 Part-year Executive Director $59,500 $64,260 2024
Sports Event Development Fund OH$460,447 President $168,206 $183,361 2023
Dayton Agricultural & Mech Assoc PA$460,350 President $1,680 $1,675 2024
Neighborhood Engagement Hub MI$460,324 Executive Director $77,599 $80,070 2024
Mnsbir Inc MN$464,536 President And Ceo $148,382 $146,572 2024
Mt Airy Community Services Corp PA$464,584 President $45,000 $46,186 2023
Ceo Roundtables Of Minnesota Inc MN$464,858 Ceo & President $150,000 $152,548 2023
Buffalo Niagara Film Commission Inc NY$459,494 President $110,892 $100,174 2024
Castle Hill District Management Association Inc NY$465,000 Executive Director $34,094 $30,799 2024
Whatcom Business Alliance WA$459,458 Executive Director $124,327 $111,276 2024
Grand County Board Of Realtors CO$459,320 Executive Dir. $92,340 $88,515 2024
International Society Of OR$459,264 Executive Di $108,426 $103,633 2023
The Real Estate Valuation Advocacy DC$465,210 Secretary $223,850 $196,374 2024
Riverfront Plaza Garage Management NJ$459,223 President $33,427 $30,717 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TX 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 TX 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 default92nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)92nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted91st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted84th

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 (Karen Lashelle) 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 13, 2026, comparing compensation against 1757 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (S), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $174,334 is reasonable (approximately the 92nd 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 13, 2026.