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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Chicago Independent Radio Project

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 261547241
IL · NTEE A34
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Shawn Campbell, Executive Director / CEO ($84,131) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 26 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 81st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Shawn Campbell — reported title “Executive Dir.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

26 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 26 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,828 total compensation of comparable organizations → $169,295 $84,131
$21,14110th
$34,72725th
$50,508Median
$66,12675th
$97,13890th
$84,131This org · 81st
p10$21,141
p25$34,727
p50$50,508
p75$66,126
p90$97,138
$84,131

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 IL 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
Tri-cities Broadcasting Foundation MI$231,020 President $93,220 $97,871 2024
American Coalition For Public Radio DC$232,882 Director And President $30,048 $26,821 2024
Spencer Cable Access Corporation MA$219,617 Treasurer $2,000 $1,828 2024
Rochester Public Radio MN$237,136 President $44,788 $45,016 2024
Pennsylvania Public Radio Associates Inc PA$237,168 President $95,040 $96,405 2024
Southern Communication Volunteers Inc TN$215,690 Station Manager $38,242 $40,888 2024
Radio Salvacion Inc PA$212,434 Former Board Member $34,848 $36,392 2023
Friends Of Community Radio NC$243,221 Executive Director $60,000 $63,061 2024
Terminal Radio Inc AK$208,046 Director Of $60,500 $58,834 2024
Kfug Community Radio Inc CA$250,385 Board Member $40,640 $35,695 2024
Open Source Media Inc MA$197,246 President & Director $73,462 $67,148 2024
Rise Up CO$196,473 Founding Director $168,594 $169,295 2023
Wayword Inc CA$263,967 Ceo/officer $54,436 $47,813 2024
Mje Broadcasting Inc TN$264,501 President $142,986 $152,879 2024
Radio For The Blind & Print Handicapped LA$271,454 Executive Dir. $47,500 $53,202 2024
Radio Eye Inc KY$181,296 Exec. Director $66,478 $74,795 2023
Driftless Community Radio Inc WI$164,962 Treasurer $14,560 $15,467 2024
Poor People's Radio Inc CA$162,314 Treasurer $60,000 $54,256 2023
Womens Civic Improvement League OR$160,411 Executive Director $24,327 $22,979 2024
J C Maxwell Broadcasting Corporatio MS$294,860 General Manager $33,251 $38,782 2023
Christian Media Inc NE$300,084 General Director $49,044 $55,241 2023
Harvest Broadcasting Company Inc CA$312,976 Member At Large $37,389 $32,840 2024
Kekahu Foundation Inc Dba Kkcr HI$320,448 General Manager $37,778 $34,404 2024
International Media Project CA$325,761 Executive Director $101,554 $89,198 2024
Sunrise Communications Inc NE$332,983 General Mana $57,348 $62,740 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL 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 IL 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 default81st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)81st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted85th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted77th

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 (Shawn Campbell) 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 26 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A34), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $84,131 is reasonable (approximately the 81st 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.