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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Northeast Access Committee

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 030337798
VT · NTEE A30Z
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Terry Difazio, Executive Director / CEO ($43,373) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 64 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 30th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Terry Difazio — reported title “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

64 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 64 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$4,360 total compensation of comparable organizations → $281,077 $43,373
$22,54310th
$38,21825th
$57,231Median
$81,75975th
$104,91690th
$43,373This org · 30th
p10$22,543
p25$38,218
p50$57,231
p75$81,759
p90$104,916
$43,373

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 VT 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
Microbetv Inc NY$312,135 President $72,000 $62,785 2024
Southwest Washington Lulac Foundation WA$308,504 Executive Director $95,220 $82,268 2024
Arizona Center For Investigative Reporting AZ$307,633 Executive Director And Editor $75,000 $71,662 2023
Rattapallax Inc NY$307,210 President $43,000 $37,496 2024
Rightside Holdings Inc AL$306,646 President $108,750 $116,725 2023
Massachusetts Media Fund Inc MA$306,429 Director $42,800 $37,115 2024
Action Youth Media Incorporated MD$304,953 Executive Director $83,540 $77,596 2023
Lion Speaks OR$304,834 Executive Director $71,700 $64,255 2024
Explorer's Bible Study Association TN$317,344 Executive Di $84,677 $85,894 2024
Unicorn Riot MN$303,413 Board Chair $79,712 $76,009 2024
Northeast Florida Journalism Collective Inc FL$317,553 Editor $120,450 $112,420 2023
Granite State News Collaborative NH$302,569 Executive Director $40,831 $36,383 2024
The Jolt News Organization WA$319,113 Executive Director $59,891 $51,745 2024
Foothills Forum VA$321,622 Executive Director $51,875 $48,335 2024
The Record Community News Group IL$298,634 Treasurer $86,961 $82,502 2024
The Ithaca Voice Inc NY$323,167 Executive Director $60,000 $52,321 2024
Plaza Media Arts Center Inc NY$326,304 Executive Dir. $100,769 $87,872 2024
Cicero Independiente Nfp IL$292,904 President $60,000 $58,605 2023
5 Stone Media MN$291,829 Executive Dir. $84,932 $80,986 2024
Kiowa County Ks Media Center KS$288,920 Creative Director $52,134 $54,351 2024
Red Media Inc NM$332,453 Program Director $44,150 $47,178 2023
Just Facts Inc TX$282,819 President $133,322 $128,698 2024
Feet In 2 Worlds Inc NY$281,470 President $38,640 $33,694 2024
Asian American Media Inc CA$280,899 President $99,512 $82,922 2024
Center For Broadcast Journalism MN$341,423 Executive Director $24,000 $23,561 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VT 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 VT 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 default30th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)27th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted17th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted30th

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 (Terry Difazio) 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 64 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $43,373 is reasonable (approximately the 30th 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.