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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Dzanc Books Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 205405226
MI · NTEE A33
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Michelle Dotter, Executive Director / CEO ($50,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 48 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 52nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Michelle Dotter — reported title “Editor-in-Chief”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

48 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 48 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,426 total compensation of comparable organizations → $174,740 $50,000
$10,78910th
$23,93825th
$48,829Median
$72,44675th
$96,17090th
$50,000This org · 52nd
p10$10,789
p25$23,938
p50$48,829
p75$72,446
p90$96,170
$50,000

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 MI 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
Sustainability Institute Inc VT$216,115 Co-director $87,245 $85,077 2023
Inlandia Institute Inc CA$213,419 Executive Director $64,220 $52,185 2024
Superstars Writing CO$212,953 Member $24,570 $22,825 2023
Targum Publishing Company NJ$209,199 Editor In Chief - Member $10,226 $8,592 2024
The Observer IN$227,989 Editor-in-chief $5,396 $5,513 2023
The Denver Homeless Voice CO$201,906 Executive Director $56,375 $52,372 2023
Fellowship For Intentional Community Inc MO$200,800 Manager $19,462 $19,398 2024
The Land Cle OH$234,577 Executive Director $79,000 $78,740 2024
Evangelical Press Association Inc AZ$235,359 Executive Director $83,936 $74,005 2025
Republic Of Letters WA$236,809 President, Publisher, Editor $67,750 $57,080 2024
Rain Taxi Inc MN$238,044 Executive Director $45,958 $43,996 2023
Anyone Corporation NY$239,192 Vp & Treasurer $30,000 $25,510 2024
Focus Press Inc TN$243,304 Employee $28,000 $28,515 2023
Latin American Perspectives Inc CA$190,599 Vice President $19,875 $16,150 2024
Western States Communication Association MT$187,356 Executive Director $12,500 $13,054 2023
Media Ecosystems Analysis MA$184,241 President & $126,160 $109,836 2023
India Childrens Press CA$183,719 Ceo $55,000 $46,012 2023
Lantern Publishing & Media NY$181,699 President $50,000 $42,518 2024
Bibliographical Society Of America NY$254,548 Executive Director $84,584 $71,926 2024
The Codex Foundation CA$180,771 Executive Di $85,500 $69,476 2024
Catamaran Literary Reader CA$178,599 Executive Director $91,952 $74,719 2024
Dialogue Foundation UT$176,457 Trustee $27,500 $26,486 2024
The Massachusetts Review Inc MA$262,636 Managing Editor $36,864 $32,094 2023
Border Belt Reporting Inc NC$172,493 President $25,000 $24,309 2024
Reconciliation An Intl Network Of Churches And PA$262,893 President $12,500 $11,730 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MI 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 MI 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 default52nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)48th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted54th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted52nd

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 (Michelle Dotter) 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 48 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A33), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $50,000 is reasonable (approximately the 52nd 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.