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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Vermilion Sea Institute

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 208381814
WA · NTEE B99
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Meghann Mcdonald, Executive Director / CEO ($31,340) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 443 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 20th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Meghann Mcdonald — reported title “Exeutive Director & Treasurer”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

443 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 443 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$141 total compensation of comparable organizations → $357,196 $31,340
$16,50610th
$38,77525th
$67,388Median
$96,80475th
$129,25990th
$31,340This org · 20th
p10$16,506
p25$38,775
p50$67,388
p75$96,804
p90$129,259
$31,340

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 WA 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
Safe Schools South Florida FL$387,647 Executive Di $33,010 $35,660 2023
The Public Education Foundation Inc IN$389,005 Executive Director $48,767 $59,138 2023
District Twelve Educators' Association CO$386,999 President $134,965 $144,548 2024
Invasive Species Action Network MT$386,496 Executive Di $68,333 $84,702 2023
American Achievement Testing Inc DC$386,410 Ceo $152,925 $149,889 2024
Kiilys Kids Incoporated FL$390,256 President $110,000 $115,420 2024
The Upward Project MA$386,090 Executive Director $100,889 $101,262 2024
Central Indiana Clubhouse Nfp Corp IN$385,145 $54,618 $64,333 2024
Su Casa De Esperanza Inc TX$384,544 Executive Dir. $38,490 $44,275 2023
The Nobelity Project TX$392,021 Executive Director $96,336 $110,814 2023
Oakland Digital Arts And Literacy Center Inc CA$382,357 Executive Director $94,800 $94,133 2023
Adult Learning Center SC$394,287 Director $100,455 $114,037 2025
Freedom Center For DE$394,810 Executive Di $53,200 $58,182 2024
Murray Education Foundation UT$394,832 Director $13,541 $15,480 2024
Stark Education Partnership Inc OH$395,046 President $196,358 $239,154 2023
Cumberland County Bar Association PA$395,243 Executive Di $76,065 $84,725 2024
Aamva Region Ii Inc VA$395,339 Director, Regions I & Ii $15,357 $17,051 2023
Communities In Schools Of Candler Co Inc GA$395,553 Director $36,575 $40,017 2025
Sunshine Academy Summer School VA$396,640 President $20,000 $22,206 2023
Building Equity Aspiration Resilience CA$378,984 President Ceo $104,000 $103,268 2023
Kingdom Classical Academy PA$378,121 Head Of School & President $23,332 $26,756 2023
Mcminnville Christian Academy OR$377,691 Principal $15,900 $16,980 2023
Arts Media And Entertainment Institute Inc CA$399,515 Executive Director $82,378 $79,452 2024
Women In Neuroscience TX$376,881 Interim Executive Director $57,000 $63,685 2024
Eduguide MI$399,810 President $120,679 $139,127 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WA 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 WA 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 default20th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)21st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted23rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted16th

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 (Meghann Mcdonald) 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 443 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $31,340 is reasonable (approximately the 20th 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.