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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Middlebury Studio School

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 264711953
VT · NTEE B94
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sarah Briggs, Executive Director / CEO ($60,192) against the 2000 closest of 3,071 comparable organizations — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 65th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

3,071 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 2,000 within the band form the benchmarked peer set (closest by budget).

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $515,008 $60,192
$9,65010th
$27,04225th
$48,505Median
$72,38075th
$98,32090th
$60,192This org · 65th
p10$9,650
p25$27,042
p50$48,505
p75$72,380
p90$98,320
$60,192

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 VT 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
Royal Legacy Christian Academy IA$346,133 Executive Di $18,359 $19,972 2023
Community Alliance For Learning CA$345,986 Executive Dir. $57,105 $46,359 2025
Growing Outreach Growing Opportunites CA$346,188 Chair/ Executive Director $21,491 $17,908 2024
Education For Tomorrow Alliance TX$346,227 President $116,473 $112,433 2024
Kaleidoscope School WA$346,306 President/treasury $63,064 $53,082 2025
Tyler Area P-16 Council TX$346,418 Executive Director $7,642 $7,377 2024
Inclusive Academy AZ$346,468 Chief Executive Officer Director $24,645 $22,873 2024
2nd Chance Ms MS$345,669 Program Director $55,000 $59,113 2024
Rilke Schule Inc AK$346,655 Executive Director $51,850 $49,250 2023
Eg Fisher Public Library TN$345,453 Executive Director(ended Aug. 2023) $36,286 $36,807 2024
Rockport Christian Service Inc TX$346,774 Director $54,365 $54,029 2023
El Sol Academy Foundation CA$345,291 Exec. Dir. Of El Sol Academy $48,053 $41,225 2023
Ebenezeer Community Outreach IL$345,180 President $131,418 $121,465 2025
R3 Student Outreach TX$347,029 President $40,580 $39,173 2024
Growing Tree Inc TN$347,057 Director $46,760 $47,431 2024
Lifechange Community Service Inc CA$347,084 Key Employee $22,917 $19,097 2024
Suncoast Career Academy Inc FL$347,093 Board Member $31,130 $28,221 2024
The Innovation Foundation Inc IL$345,070 Director $200,000 $189,744 2024
Engaging Young Minds Academy Inc FL$345,013 President $45,138 $42,129 2023
Oncology Association Of Naturopathic Physicians AK$344,997 Executive Director $60,892 $56,179 2024
Life College CA$344,960 Program Director $112,800 $93,995 2024
One Bead Project OH$347,210 President $84,580 $84,221 2025
Denver Biennial Of The Americas CO$344,954 Executive Di $167,959 $155,417 2024
Baroque Chamber Orchestra Of Colorado CO$347,299 President $7,946 $7,163 2025
Classical Scholars Inc NC$347,341 Executive Director, Teacher $46,105 $45,972 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VT 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 VT 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 default65th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)60th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted68th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted56th

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 (Sarah Briggs) 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 2000 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (B), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $60,192 is reasonable (approximately the 65th 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.