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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Financial Education Associates Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 113795547
MA · NTEE P51
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jacqueline Cooper, Executive Director / CEO ($96,022) 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 83rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Jacqueline Cooper — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, 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

$32,437 total compensation of comparable organizations → $133,264 $96,022
$41,77810th
$54,06725th
$71,179Median
$78,26575th
$110,58490th
$96,022This org · 83rd
p10$41,778
p25$54,067
p50$71,179
p75$78,265
p90$110,584
$96,022

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 MA 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
Simplify Inc WI$215,000 Chief Executive Officer $54,500 $63,339 2023
Grace-mar Services Inc NC$224,988 President $40,000 $45,994 2023
Tsm Services WA$227,369 President $77,800 $75,290 2024
Empower Yourself Ltd MA$227,822 President/director $73,375 $71,270 2024
American Credit Counseling Institute Inc PA$210,016 President $49,588 $55,030 2023
Credit Coalition Inc TX$229,874 Executive Director $105,067 $113,602 2024
Marvelous Lifestyles Outreach MI$208,020 President $62,908 $70,184 2024
Your Best Life Inc WI$202,327 Codirector $114,666 $133,264 2023
Dominion Financial Management Inc TN$241,301 Executive Director $61,224 $69,560 2024
Building Bridges Of Northeast Oklahoma Inc OK$242,923 Executive Director $34,216 $40,724 2024
Wings For Widows MN$245,930 Executive Director $60,041 $64,126 2024
Streator Area United Way Inc IL$248,135 Executive Dir. $35,467 $38,802 2023
Butterfly Financial Education NC$253,921 President $63,731 $71,179 2024
Action Payee Services Inc OR$257,009 President $105,571 $105,970 2024
Mustard Seed Development Center OH$260,615 Executive Director $45,750 $52,376 2024
Morning Star Urban Development Inc GA$269,603 Executive Director $66,600 $72,382 2024
Institute For Financial ME$280,801 Exec Dir./se $70,660 $78,738 2023
A Debt Coach Credit Counseling KY$158,074 President $66,000 $76,644 2024
Montana Credit Unions For Community MT$147,613 Ceo $45,578 $53,104 2024
The Cares Project Inc NC$296,908 Ceo $81,640 $91,180 2024
1 Wiser Consumer Education Center Inc TX$306,880 Executive $30,000 $32,437 2024
The Phebe Foundation OH$308,316 Excutive Director $66,000 $77,791 2023
Project Green MI$323,918 Executive Di $97,280 $111,738 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MA 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 MA 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 default83rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)83rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted83rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted78th

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 (Jacqueline Cooper) 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 sector (P51), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $96,022 is reasonable (approximately the 83rd 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.