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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Decoding Culture Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 923025720
NC · NTEE W05
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Brett Carollo, Executive Director / CEO ($66,312) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 318 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 69th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

How comparable organizations were selected

318 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 318 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$200 total compensation of comparable organizations → $583,152 $66,312
$8,09010th
$20,14925th
$41,050Median
$76,24475th
$105,02390th
$66,312This org · 69th
p10$8,090
p25$20,149
p50$41,050
p75$76,244
p90$105,023
$66,312

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 NC cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateTotal revenueTotal compSource
Banda HealthTX $221,053$66,846 990
Move For AmericaMN $220,083$7,385 990
Nine Muses FoundationNY $220,069$141,537 990
Veterans Of Foreign Wars Post 614NM $221,500$12,474 990
Valley Neighbors Of The FlatheadMT $221,586$2,363 990
Mnic Building CompanyMN $219,003$15,356 990
Cmwp Foundation IncCT $222,351$467 990
Crockett MissionTN $218,254$8,641 990
Yuan FoundationMD $223,028$81,255 990
ActivatesaTX $218,027$59,935 990
Mclaran Leadership FoundationOR $217,633$13,620 990
Transport CentralNH $224,003$13,453 990
Veterans Of Foreign WarsMN $224,089$9,555 990
Celebrate Me WeekMN $217,117$10,729 990
Iowa Municipal Finance Officers AssociationIA $216,899$7,743 990
People MatterIL $216,495$54,578 990
Veterans Of Foreign WarsCA $216,406$4,513 990
Leadership Lorain County IncOH $224,812$77,699 990
Rhode Island Coalition For Children & Families Education Fund IncRI $224,854$89,201 990
The Pilcrow FoundationOR $225,026$52,048 990
National Council Of Firefighter Credit Unions IncFL $225,142$40,738 990
Knott Alone--hold FastVA $225,184$15,135 990
Juvenile Justice Advocates InternationalMN $225,208$66,694 990
Groom Creek Water Users AssociationAZ $225,386$34,904 990
Louisiana Partnership For Children And FamiliesLA $225,511$91,339 990

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 NC 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 default69th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)68th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted71st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted62nd

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 (Brett Carollo) 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 318 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (W), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $66,312 is reasonable (approximately the 69th 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). 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.