Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Karen Lake, Executive Director / CEO ($98,872) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 31 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 94th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended
Benchmarked executive: Karen Lake — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.
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); the reported amount is on each linked 990.
| Organization | State | Revenue | Matched title | Comp (reported) | Comp (adjusted) | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cassie Hines Shoes Cancer Foundation Inc | MI | $294,164 | Vice President - Executive Director | $13,350 | $13,744 | 2023 |
| Southeastern Pa Intergroup | PA | $286,727 | Office Manager | $62,720 | $62,720 | 2024 |
| Delaware Preservation Fund Inc | DE | $304,850 | Program Director | $4,890 | $4,890 | 2024 |
| Sauganash Foundation | NY | $280,083 | Trustee | $29,400 | $30,268 | 2023 |
| Grantmakers Of Oregon And Sw Washington | OR | $310,685 | President/ceo | $136,621 | $140,656 | 2023 |
| Anna's Celebration Of Life | IN | $275,464 | Director | $51,688 | $51,688 | 2024 |
| Msda Charitable And Educational | MD | $322,375 | Executive Director | $5,360 | $5,360 | 2024 |
| Terrebonne Foundation For Academic | LA | $326,465 | Executive Director | $56,000 | $56,000 | 2024 |
| Blackacre Conservancy Inc | KY | $326,500 | Executive Director | $70,000 | $72,068 | 2023 |
| The Gerald S And Miriam M Friedkin | CA | $262,367 | Director | $21,207 | $21,833 | 2023 |
| St Stephens Episcopal School | FL | $261,420 | Ex-officio | $9,349 | $9,625 | 2023 |
| Norman A & Susan L Pappas Family | MI | $330,349 | Secretary | $26,189 | $26,189 | 2024 |
| Walter & Avis Jacobs Foundation Inc | KY | $256,115 | President | $10,000 | $9,742 | 2025 |
| Blue Heron Foundation | CA | $253,752 | Director Of Communications | $2,637 | $2,637 | 2024 |
| Leadership Perimeter Inc | GA | $339,391 | Executive Di | $90,600 | $90,600 | 2024 |
| Hand Up For Women | TN | $351,607 | Executive Director | $68,870 | $70,904 | 2023 |
| Zarlengo Foundation | CO | $362,095 | Executive Dir. | $95,000 | $95,000 | 2024 |
| Worcester Public Library Foundation | MA | $370,266 | Executive Director/clerk | $100,957 | $100,957 | 2024 |
| Daniel Foundation Inc | FL | $219,163 | President/ceo | $1,500 | $1,544 | 2023 |
| Parson Of The Hills Foundation Inc | NC | $373,789 | Ceo Director | $52,008 | $53,544 | 2023 |
| Abny Foundation Inc | NY | $382,348 | Ceo & Secretary | $8,750 | $9,008 | 2023 |
| Ironworkers Local 782 Joint | KY | $382,411 | Trustee | $906 | $906 | 2024 |
| Ridgecrest Foundation Inc | IA | $383,077 | Ceo | $45,574 | $44,399 | 2025 |
| Jimmie Johnson Foundation | NC | $383,978 | Executive Director | $81,953 | $81,953 | 2024 |
| Hope Christian Services Foundation Inc | NJ | $388,812 | Ceo | $16,806 | $16,806 | 2024 |
Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to the subject's state cost of living and 2024 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.
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. 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.
Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:
| Basis | Subject percentile |
|---|---|
| Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default | 94th |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 94th |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 97th |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 58th |
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.
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
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.