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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Cedar Branch Project

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 954496365
CA · NTEE S80Z
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Pankaj Sarkar, Executive Director / CEO ($14,523) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 41 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 29th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

41 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 41 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,056 total compensation of comparable organizations → $130,907 $14,523
$3,62610th
$12,96225th
$44,524Median
$76,08175th
$100,18590th
$14,523This org · 29th
p10$3,626
p25$12,962
p50$44,524
p75$76,081
p90$100,185
$14,523

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
Cavalier County Memorial Hospital Founda ND$186,685 Executive Director $45,452 $54,661 2025
Iowa Gun Owners IA$187,138 Chairman Of The Board $60,000 $76,081 2023
Lithuanian Center IL$193,802 President/director $7,200 $7,757 2025
The Committee Of 101 Inc KY$174,880 President $3,600 $4,239 2025
Community Chest Of Cicero IL$173,650 Executive Di $27,000 $29,858 2024
High Plains Community Development NE$170,051 Executive Di $54,326 $65,725 2024
Missouri Valley Crisis Center Inc SD$200,185 Executive Dir. $61,301 $78,348 2023
Northern Pine Riders MN$167,631 President $2,200 $2,517 2023
Mental Health America Of VA$201,815 Executive Di $72,846 $79,117 2024
Literacy Council Of Southwestern Pa PA$165,913 Executive Di $70,700 $79,307 2024
Midlands Mediation Center SC$162,078 Executive Director $38,958 $47,067 2023
Adpi Properties Inc GA$207,123 Executive Director $24,687 $27,922 2024
Crow Wing County Victim Services MN$208,111 Executive Director $105,545 $117,311 2024
Start Up Kids Club TX$209,565 Executive Di $62,370 $70,179 2024
Dade City Rod And Gun Club Inc FL$155,917 President $2,700 $2,854 2024
Texas Lions Foundation Inc TX$213,303 Chief Operation $18,000 $20,254 2024
Law Foundation Of Berks County PA$215,296 Executive Director $25,151 $28,212 2024
Westside Regional Medical Staff Inc FL$145,365 Chief Of Staff $1,000 $1,056 2024
Institute For Public Leadership NE$227,033 Executive Director $85,000 $100,185 2025
House Of Compassion IA$229,933 Executive Director $51,000 $64,669 2023
Chap Corporation MN$129,847 Vice President $12,000 $13,338 2024
Working Men Of Christ Inc KS$240,294 Executive Director $42,000 $51,039 2024
Santa Rosa Community Services Inc FL$126,025 Director $42,135 $44,524 2024
Mt Juliet Help Center TN$243,235 Director $44,233 $52,300 2024
San Diego Lions Welfare Foundation CA$245,585 Executive Dir. $12,438 $12,081 2024

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 default29th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)29th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted34th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted24th

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 (Pankaj Sarkar) 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 41 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S80), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $14,523 is reasonable (approximately the 29th 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.