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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Imagine Akron Academy

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 271414401
OH · NTEE B29
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Richard Berdine, Executive Director / CEO ($18,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 19 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 26th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Richard Berdine — reported title “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

19 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 19 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$750 total compensation of comparable organizations → $119,178 $18,500
$9,67310th
$18,36025th
$39,054Median
$70,12775th
$89,54690th
$18,500This org · 26th
p10$9,673
p25$18,360
p50$39,054
p75$70,127
p90$89,546
$18,500

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 OH 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
Catskill Wheelhouse NY$371,970 Secretary/staff Representa $35,799 $30,542 2024
Franklin Schools Foundation UT$370,141 Director $34,083 $32,935 2024
Do & Be Arts Academy Of Excellence NV$391,413 Executive Di $104,020 $95,906 2025
Robert Frost Charter School NH$394,924 Head Of Scho $72,084 $64,699 2023
Hinckley Preparatory Academy OH$409,647 Board Member $750 $750 2024
Nextgen Global Leadership Academies TX$409,688 Superintendent $75,000 $72,925 2023
Kalmiopsis Community Arts High School OR$348,553 Secretary & Staff Representat $15,417 $13,517 2024
City On A Hill Foundation Inc MA$332,706 Clerk $23,761 $20,755 2023
The Bryan Allen Stevenson School Of DE$432,712 Executive Dir. $128,915 $119,178 2024
Everyblackgirl Inc SC$453,377 Executive Director $68,667 $67,636 2024
Progressnow Colorado CO$301,925 Executive Director $1,000 $905 2024
One Dearborn Inc IN$291,294 Executive Di $88,339 $87,956 2024
Deer Valley Charter Schools Inc AZ$482,697 Executive Di $12,692 $11,865 2023
Community First School Inc CT$489,223 School Leader $82,032 $72,618 2024
Fore Life Inc FL$271,296 Director $18,000 $15,965 2024
St Louis Voices Academy Of Media Arts MO$255,669 Executive Director $65,550 $67,486 2023
Cumberland County Charter School Network NJ$526,728 Executive Director $45,000 $39,054 2023
Jardin De La Infancia CA$537,928 Executive Di $43,375 $34,451 2025
Cordoba Academy WA$569,127 Principal $60,000 $50,718 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to OH 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 OH 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 default26th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)26th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted32nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted26th

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 (Richard Berdine) 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 19 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B29), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $18,500 is reasonable (approximately the 26th 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.