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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Spirit Fire Meditative

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 043564168
VT · NTEE B60
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Stephen Kramer, Executive Director / CEO ($41,250) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 23 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 61st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Stephen Kramer — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

23 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 23 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$51 total compensation of comparable organizations → $100,483 $41,250
$1,68710th
$14,94125th
$35,747Median
$56,05875th
$76,63690th
$41,250This org · 61st
p10$1,687
p25$14,941
p50$35,747
p75$56,058
p90$76,636
$41,250

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
The Buhite-dimino Corridor For Oral And NY$9,793 President $70,388 $61,564 2025
Taller Creativo Inc PR$9,066 Director $50 $51 2023
Xkkf AK$10,000 Executive Director $6,667 $6,333 2024
Colorado School Of Mines Building Corporation CO$10,070 President $98,377 $93,720 2024
International Teachers Project Inc RI$10,300 President $17,500 $16,672 2024
Pennsylvania Public Education Foundation PA$8,690 Executive Director $77,541 $76,825 2024
Michigan Council Of Deliberation MI$10,450 Former Secre $200 $211 2023
Pitzer College Costa Rica CA$8,145 President $88,447 $75,879 2024
International Cultural Exchange Inc AR$8,000 Chairman Of The Board $89,977 $100,483 2024
South Carolina Cattlemens Foundation Inc SC$7,859 Exec Director $33,500 $35,747 2023
Pacb Foundation PA$11,406 President/ceo $18,372 $18,740 2023
Readysetexcel Inc CA$12,000 President $10,500 $8,776 2025
Syracuse University Alumni NY$12,585 Interim Treasurer $20,773 $19,201 2023
Graduate Center Foundation Housing NY$6,406 Secretary $50,703 $46,864 2023
The Corporation For Penn State PA$6,380 President $56,351 $55,831 2024
Whitworth Foundation WA$6,377 University President $43,858 $39,012 2024
Robinson Library Endowment IL$12,801 Trustee $24,369 $23,189 2025
Lorain County Community College OH$12,873 President $42,622 $44,851 2024
Dylan Matz Foundation PA$13,197 Trustee $13,333 $13,210 2024
Believers Achieve Dreams OH$13,607 Exec. Director $500 $526 2024
Bpi Foundation DC$13,731 President $62,707 $56,285 2023
Brown Hudner Navy Scholarship Foundation VA$13,974 President $17,102 $16,890 2023
Sherburne Area Local Development NY$14,098 Ceo $40,316 $37,264 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 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 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 default61st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)57th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted96th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted35th

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 (Stephen Kramer) 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 23 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (B), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $41,250 is reasonable (approximately the 61st 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.