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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Marine Life Studies

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 270318674
CA · NTEE U21
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Stephanie Marcos, Executive Director / CEO ($45,971) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 131 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 40th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Stephanie Marcos — reported title “OPERATIONAL MANAGER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

131 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 131 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$439 total compensation of comparable organizations → $389,769 $45,971
$12,18510th
$29,35625th
$63,603Median
$116,30175th
$154,67190th
$45,971This org · 40th
p10$12,185
p25$29,356
p50$63,603
p75$116,301
p90$154,671
$45,971

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 CA 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
Iowa Turfgrass Institute IA$352,407 Executive Director $73,900 $93,707 2024
Partnership To Advance Responsible Techn PA$354,501 Executive Director $146,846 $174,597 2023
Biomedical Excellence For Safer Transfusion Collaborative CA$354,603 Executive Director $150,000 $150,000 2024
The Biotechnology Association Of Alabama AL$355,879 Ceo $120,148 $150,318 2024
Indianafirst Inc IN$342,326 Executive Dir. $67,450 $84,807 2023
Clean Oceans International CA$341,442 Executive Dir. $48,282 $47,037 2025
National Motorists Association Inc WI$358,873 Executive Director Of Oper $92,302 $111,635 2024
Cyber Collective Incorporated NY$360,658 Executive Director And Board Chair $39,990 $43,084 2023
Satoshi Action Education OR$360,666 President $26,667 $29,527 2023
Solving For Science CA$338,901 Highest Compensated Employee $121,841 $121,841 2024
Alliance For Working Together Foundation OH$337,514 Executive Director $104,380 $128,030 2024
Society Of American Military Engineers F VA$334,012 Executive Director (Thru 8/15/23) $7,116 $8,192 2023
Rnd4impact Inc CA$333,249 President $120,000 $120,000 2024
International Society For CA$332,093 Cfo/secretary $127,000 $127,000 2024
Climate Access Inc CA$369,568 Executive Director $140,004 $144,139 2023
Research Theory Inc TX$330,000 President $8,333 $9,938 2023
Fungal Diversity Survey Inc CA$328,447 Executive Di $34,200 $35,210 2023
Virginia Academy Of Science VA$372,146 Executive Officer $15,343 $17,663 2023
Nantucket Shellfish Association Inc MA$372,864 Executive Director $110,000 $117,854 2023
Open Environmental Data Inc DE$325,667 President $151,928 $172,277 2024
Asian Technology Information Program DC$325,103 President/ceo/secretary/tr $93,825 $95,349 2024
Simulation Councils Inc CA$324,010 Executive Director/secretary $103,000 $106,042 2023
Institute For Responsible Technology IA$378,791 President $114,577 $149,577 2023
Ieom Society International MI$379,303 Executive Di $22,000 $26,297 2024
Paleocultural Research Group CO$318,728 Research Director $54,975 $61,047 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA 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 CA 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 default40th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)42nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted42nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted31st

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 (Stephanie Marcos) 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 131 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (U), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $45,971 is reasonable (approximately the 40th 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.