CEO Compensation Review
Set nonprofit CEO pay your board can stand behind
Your board is responsible for CEO compensation that’s market-informed and well-documented. We give you a clear, credible read on the market so your decision is easy to make and easy to defend.
When is it time for a CEO Compensation Review?
Nonprofit boards should consider a CEO compensation review annually or during key moments, such as:
When hiring or transitioning to a new CEO, and you need a credible starting point
CEO pay hasn’t been benchmarked in years, and you’re not sure it still fits the market
Growth or restructuring has changed the role, so the former or current compensation no longer applies
You need independent validation to support a board or committee compensation decision
Pay and performance have drifted apart, and you want them realigned with strategy
When there are questions around competitiveness, equity, or external perception
What’s Included in a CEO Compensation Review?
Most reviews are completed in three to four weeks.
CEO Compensation Snapshot
A one-page CEO compensation snapshot. A clear, high-level summary of market-based CEO pay, including base salary, bonus, and total cash compensation.
- Developed from nationally recognized, employer-reported compensation data
- Tailored to your organization’s size, type, and geographic market
- Built for easy board and committee review
Board Consultation
A 30-minute board consultation, held virtually. A focused working session to walk through the findings and answer your questions.
- Clarifies your key takeaways and where current pay sits in the market
- Supports board understanding and alignment on the decision
- Points to the next considerations worth weighing
Why Choose ERC
We’ve spent more than 100 years helping Northeast Ohio organizations make sound people decisions with credible data behind them. Our CEO Compensation Review brings that same rigor to your board’s most visible compensation decision.
Board-ready by design
Findings are built to support strong governance and confident decisions rather than leaving your committee to decode a spreadsheet.
A defensible, objective process
A documented, data-backed approach that stands up to board due diligence and outside review.
Real nonprofit experience
Our guidance is grounded in the specific compensation questions nonprofit organizations and their boards face, not generic corporate pay models.
Clear over complicated
Practical insight without unnecessary complexity, delivered in a focused, cost-effective format.
Nicole Doria, Senior Compensation Consultant
Nicole brings over 15 years of extensive compensation experience to ERC. Nicole’s areas of expertise include the development, design, and implementation of base salary administration programs, variable and incentive pay plans, merit pay for performance planning, executive compensation, and equity and stock award administration.
Nicole has held various compensation positions with nonprofit organizations and several publicly traded and privately held corporations. Nicole uses our local and national market data library as a foundation of her work while also applying the principles of best compensation practices.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
We build your snapshot from nationally recognized compensation databases made up of employer-reported pay data, not self-reported salary sites or online aggregators. Then we tailor it to your organization’s size, type, and geographic market, so the comparison reflects organizations like yours rather than a national average that doesn’t fit.
That’s exactly what it’s built for. Nonprofit boards are expected to base executive pay on comparable, market-relevant data and to document how they reached their decision. Our review gives you both: objective market data and a clear summary you can reference in your board minutes and lean on for Form 990 reporting. It supports the due diligence that regulators, auditors, and funders look for.
Most reviews are completed in three to four weeks once we have your role details. That covers building the one-page snapshot and holding your 30-minute board consultation. If you’re working toward a board meeting or a hiring decision, tell us the date and we’ll work to it.
We price the CEO role against organizations that look like yours, filtering by size, organization type, and the market where the work is done.
A one-page summary of market-based CEO compensation covering base salary, bonus, and total cash, plus a 30-minute virtual working session to talk through what it means. You’ll leave knowing where your CEO’s pay sits in the market, how to read the numbers, and what to weigh next. No long report to decode.
Get Pricing or More Information
We’ll walk you through how the review works and what your board can expect. Most reviews take three to four weeks, so you can have market-backed numbers quickly.
