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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Minnesota News Media Institute Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 271628407
MN · NTEE B99
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Lisa Hills, Executive Director / CEO ($12,816) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 43 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 35th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Lisa Hills — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

43 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 43 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,281 total compensation of comparable organizations → $98,378 $12,816
$3,16610th
$10,26425th
$18,360Median
$48,89675th
$72,20090th
$12,816This org · 35th
p10$3,166
p25$10,264
p50$18,360
p75$48,896
p90$72,200
$12,816

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 MN 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
Democracy Unlimited CA$70,349 Director/independent Contractor $39,323 $35,379 2023
Cohort Sistas Inc DE$72,436 Executive Director $10,000 $9,654 2025
The Minority Scholars Program MD$72,635 President $3,628 $3,433 2024
Acnpe NY$72,695 Executive Director $55,000 $50,297 2024
Kindred Spirits Canine Educationcenter CA$73,648 Executive Director $62,400 $56,141 2023
Center For American Indian Research & SD$69,050 President $13,800 $15,413 2024
Maryland School For Jewish Education MD$65,942 President & Secretary $1,390 $1,281 2025
Neohumanist College Of Asheville NC$78,689 President $52,500 $54,899 2024
The Westbrook Education Foundation MN$63,748 Director $2,390 $2,390 2024
Shine Your Light CA$63,350 President/ceo $14,317 $12,511 2024
Homeschoolers United In The Big Bend Incorporated FL$81,053 President & Treasurer $15,061 $14,319 2024
Milk And Honey Outreach Ministries Inc FL$61,407 Director $42,600 $41,697 2023
California Psychology Internship Council CA$82,024 Executive Director $53,750 $48,359 2023
Albany Fund For Education Inc NY$60,712 Executive Director $32,340 $30,448 2023
Mayor's Scholarship Fund Inc ID$60,237 Executive Di $12,032 $12,620 2025
Lavaca Historical Museum TX$83,283 Treasurer $6,133 $6,049 2025
Agc Oregon Columbia Chapter Foundation OR$58,668 Executive Dir. $21,018 $19,753 2024
Empowerment Media Inc FL$85,286 Ceo $21,996 $20,912 2024
Peace Tax Foundation Inc DC$57,245 Executie Director $17,610 $16,101 2023
Secular Communities For Arizona Inc AZ$87,047 Executive Director $70,833 $68,941 2024
The College Of Exploration VA$87,643 President $8,043 $8,092 2023
Gonzaga University Telecommunications Association WA$88,421 President $52,736 $46,552 2025
Continuing Medical Education Institute MN$89,386 President/director $1,500 $1,544 2023
Citizens For Road Safety Texas TX$53,170 President $7,500 $7,593 2024
Kauffman Fasttrac Inc MO$52,110 Board Member/treasurer $76,422 $81,916 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MN 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 MN 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 default35th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)33rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted81st

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 (Lisa Hills) 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 43 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $12,816 is reasonable (approximately the 35th 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.