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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Bluegrass Institute For Public Policy So

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 113691843
KY · NTEE B99
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jim Watters, Executive Director / CEO ($64,834) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 339 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 70th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

339 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 339 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$181 total compensation of comparable organizations → $265,926 $64,834
$9,52910th
$26,81025th
$46,753Median
$71,30675th
$97,19290th
$64,834This org · 70th
p10$9,529
p25$26,810
p50$46,753
p75$71,306
p90$97,192
$64,834

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 KY 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
Youthlaunch Inc TX$232,340 Executive Director $108,333 $100,866 2025
New Beginnings Pregnancy Services Inc AR$232,407 Director $42,414 $45,549 2024
Little Lobbyists Family Alliance MD$231,498 Executive Director $80,000 $71,458 2024
Vehicle For Change Inc OH$231,281 Executive Di $20,000 $20,238 2024
New York State Science Olympiad Inc NY$233,412 Treasurer $13,500 $11,355 2025
Teachers Association Of Lee County FL$233,694 Vice President $2,099 $1,884 2024
Grand Valley Equine Assisted CO$233,800 President $17,769 $16,278 2024
Journalism And Women Symposium MI$233,838 Executive Director $54,667 $55,502 2023
Wikitongues Inc NY$230,663 Executive Director $59,796 $53,149 2023
The Partnership For Excellence OH$229,942 President & $152,192 $158,555 2023
Rising River Corporation OH$234,698 Manager $44,950 $45,486 2024
Mental Health Association Of Portland OR$235,080 Secretary $41,232 $37,663 2023
Lifewerks Inc PA$229,096 President $3,000 $2,858 2024
Osiris Organization MN$235,558 Executive Director $41,250 $38,942 2024
Michigan Leagues Of Academic Games MI$228,852 Executive Director $3,000 $3,045 2023
Texas Youth Foundation TX$236,240 Founder & President $52,768 $50,430 2024
Everybody Wins Atlanta Inc GA$227,915 Executive Director $68,245 $67,496 2023
Building From Below NC$236,855 President $33,800 $33,367 2024
Christian Learning Center Inc MS$227,592 Executive Director $8,000 $8,764 2023
Jandernoa Entrepreneurial Mentoring MI$227,525 Executive Di $132,515 $134,539 2023
Regina Inc SC$227,382 Executive Di $45,000 $44,853 2024
Litcamp CA$237,327 Executive Dir. $49,000 $39,383 2025
South Dakota Education Equity Coalition SD$237,679 Executive Director $146,490 $154,462 2024
New York Theological Education Center Inc NY$237,887 President $65,081 $56,187 2024
Theo Inc ND$226,676 Executive Director $54,718 $57,370 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to KY cost of living and 2025 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 KY 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 default70th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)65th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted68th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted64th

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 (Jim Watters) 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 339 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $64,834 is reasonable (approximately the 70th 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.