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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Elias E Tucker Trust Fund

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 016042343
ME · NTEE B55I
FY ending 2024-05-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Steve Littleson, Executive Director / CEO ($228,295) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 73 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 100th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Steve Littleson — reported title “PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

73 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 73 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$209 total compensation of comparable organizations → $143,946 $228,295
$3,24810th
$6,33525th
$14,618Median
$35,88675th
$73,13990th
$228,295This org · 100th
p10$3,248
p25$6,335
p50$14,618
p75$35,886
p90$73,139
$228,295

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 ME 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
The Exploris Foundation NC$22,055 Board Member $9,462 $10,052 2023
Achieving Academic Success CO$22,822 Executive Director $17,050 $16,327 2024
Local 417 Scholarship Fund NY$22,978 Trustee $108,364 $95,269 2025
The Professional Institute For PA$21,644 Executive Director $35,000 $35,886 2023
Norris Square Education Corporation PA$21,499 Ceo-xiente $16,868 $16,799 2024
Literacy Volunteers Of Fauquier County VA$23,398 Executive Director $11,000 $10,607 2024
Laker Educational Foundation MN$23,401 Executive Dir. $6,590 $6,335 2025
Sizer School Foundation Inc MA$21,296 Board Memeber $6,749 $6,235 2023
Alumnae Association Of The Lenox Hill NY$21,224 President/editor Of Echo $10,000 $9,290 2023
Educate Nky Inc KY$23,868 President & $114,583 $122,939 2024
Mcfarlane-cure Charitable Trust WI$23,904 Trustee $200 $209 2024
The Gavin Dillard Poetry Library And Archive Inc NC$24,034 Founder $900 $929 2024
Briercrest College And Seminary Usa WA$20,749 Officer $99,132 $91,253 2023
Relife Initiatives Corporation GA$20,705 Ceo $5,495 $5,680 2023
The Foundation For Chabot-las Positas Community College District CA$20,521 Treasurer $123,893 $106,838 2024
The Environmental Charter School PA$24,329 Trustee $54,032 $53,810 2024
Readability Matters CO$20,412 Chair $60,000 $57,456 2024
Downtowners Inc OH$24,557 Executive Director $4,000 $4,231 2024
Mcgehee Mens Club Inc AR$20,118 Secretary $10,984 $12,330 2024
Barbara Jordan Institute TX$24,868 Executive Director $3,607 $3,710 2023
Painting Hope MN$24,886 President $25,500 $25,163 2024
National Marine Inst Inc FL$25,115 Executive Director $21,600 $20,264 2024
Highland School Inc WV$19,261 President $500 $527 2025
Raise A Child Of The Carolinas NC$25,544 Ceo $3,992 $4,119 2024
The Joy School Endowment Fund TX$19,241 School President/head $23,705 $23,681 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to ME cost of living and 2024 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 ME 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 default100th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)100th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted100th

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 (Steve Littleson) 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 73 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (B), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $228,295 is reasonable (approximately the 100th 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.