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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Childrens Book Project

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 943229734
CA · NTEE P30
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Maureen Mccarthy, Executive Director / CEO ($21,245) 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: Maureen Mccarthy — reported title “BOARD MEMBER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable 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

$1,943 total compensation of comparable organizations → $146,474 $21,245
$61,57310th
$65,00025th
$80,619Median
$104,96975th
$139,85490th
$21,245This org · 5th
p10$61,573
p25$65,000
p50$80,619
p75$104,969
p90$139,854
$21,245

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 CA 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
Worthy Of Love CA$369,020 President $83,000 $80,619 2024
Campaign For Children And Families CA$374,666 Secretary $80,643 $78,329 2024
International Association For Child Aid CA$365,647 President $65,000 $63,135 2024
Magnolia Counseling CA$375,501 President $123,850 $120,297 2024
Children's Institute Of Watts CA$383,797 President $61,573 $61,573 2023
Daisys House CA$402,839 President $2,000 $1,943 2024
Oncology And Kids Inc CA$411,399 President & Ceo $65,000 $65,000 2023
Crickets Hope Inc CA$420,098 Executive Dir. $69,858 $67,854 2024
The Orange County Friendship Circle Inc CA$320,038 Director $66,992 $66,992 2023
Forget Me Not Childrens Services CA$422,423 Executive Dir. $101,912 $98,988 2024
Casa A Voice For Children CA$315,713 Ceo $147,072 $142,853 2024
Lollipop Theater Network Inc CA$308,877 Executive Director $143,985 $139,854 2024
Joy Company-joyco CA$308,452 President Executive Director $65,125 $65,125 2023
Raisinghope Inc CA$440,598 Executive Dir. $82,750 $82,750 2023
Jubilee Consortium CA$293,411 Executive Dir. $24,759 $24,759 2023
For The Need Foundation CA$480,016 Executive Director $146,474 $146,474 2023
Million Little CA$502,466 Executive Director $65,900 $62,359 2025
Partnership For Children CA$508,497 Executive Dir. $87,423 $87,423 2023
Friendship Circle Sd Inc CA$509,238 Executive Dir. $104,411 $101,415 2024
Friends Of Camp Natoma Inc CA$524,955 Executive Director $104,969 $104,969 2023
Chrysalis House Inc CA$550,812 Executive Dir. $118,795 $112,413 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA 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 CA 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), adjusted10th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted5th

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 (Maureen Mccarthy) 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 (P30) + CA + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $21,245 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.