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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Eastern Communication Association

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 232145328
PA · NTEE B99Z
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Stacy Smulowitz, Executive Director / CEO ($15,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 406 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 11th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Stacy Smulowitz — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

406 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 406 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$126 total compensation of comparable organizations → $284,735 $15,000
$14,04410th
$32,04025th
$52,721Median
$75,91175th
$105,21790th
$15,000This org · 11th
p10$14,044
p25$32,040
p50$52,721
p75$75,911
p90$105,217
$15,000

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 PA 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
California Academy CA$278,224 Executive Director $18,780 $16,262 2024
Hudson River Park Mothers Group Org NY$278,260 Director $130,000 $114,761 2025
Teacher Education Division Of The VA$278,269 Executive Director $67,200 $66,986 2023
Ibtta Foundation DC$278,451 Staff Liaison $72,925 $64,171 2024
Ace Mentor Program Of Northeast Florida FL$276,952 Director $81,963 $75,221 2025
We Defend Truth TX$276,840 Founder & Ceo $72,800 $75,181 2023
Hua Xia South Chinese School Inc NJ$279,100 Vice Principal $2,000 $1,744 2025
Superseeds OH$276,311 Executive Director $50,000 $53,105 2024
Garden City Ballet Company MT$275,676 Exec Director $66,025 $69,529 2025
The Channel Inc VA$280,042 Chief Executive Officer $46,420 $46,272 2023
Science Sites Inc MA$275,238 President $90,000 $81,100 2024
Veritas Christian School Inc OK$280,605 President $25,000 $28,420 2023
American College Of Pediatricians GA$274,826 Executive Director $36,152 $37,528 2023
The Thrive Network CO$280,673 Executive Director $77,584 $74,600 2024
A One Room Schoolhouse A Hybrid Homeschool Academy PA$274,764 President $25,000 $25,738 2023
J Kirby Simon Foreign Service DC$274,417 Trustee $5,000 $4,400 2024
Management & Organizational Behavior FL$281,337 Executive Dir. $77,355 $75,023 2023
Wordwalk Inc FL$274,090 Executive Di $3,000 $2,826 2024
Bentonville Public School Foundation AR$281,857 Executive Director $75,000 $87,034 2023
Conductability Inc CA$273,357 Program Director $113,322 $98,125 2024
New Michigan Media MI$273,125 President $30,000 $31,051 2024
All Saints' Episcopal School Of Fort TX$282,677 Head Of School $33,050 $33,152 2024
Crsa CO$282,709 Executive Director $162,356 $160,723 2023
Washington Career And Technical Sports Medicine Association WA$282,916 Executive Director $34,450 $30,132 2025
Catalytic Communities Inc MD$283,144 Executive Director $38,400 $41,672 2021

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to PA 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 PA 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 default11th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)10th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted17th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted10th

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 (Stacy Smulowitz) 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 406 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $15,000 is reasonable (approximately the 11th 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.