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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Transcendent Media Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 272309797
CA · NTEE A30
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Charles J Hamilton, Executive Director / CEO ($75,100) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 46 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 61st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Charles J Hamilton — reported title “President”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

46 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 46 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$3,394 total compensation of comparable organizations → $205,000 $75,100
$25,48210th
$45,21725th
$66,063Median
$95,52175th
$116,61890th
$75,100This org · 61st
p10$25,482
p25$45,217
p50$66,063
p75$95,521
p90$116,618
$75,100

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
Soapbox Productions And Organizing IL$243,786 President $45,000 $51,234 2023
New Perspectives Media Assc SC$238,857 Executive Producer $14,500 $17,518 2023
Reckoning Inc KY$253,107 President Executive Director $66,950 $83,299 2023
Headfirst Arts & Media Inc CA$232,602 President & Director $205,000 $205,000 2023
Double Portion Media CA$257,101 Ceo $43,600 $42,349 2024
Lexicon Of Sustainability Inc CA$258,554 President $46,153 $44,829 2024
The Pulp MT$260,024 Co-publisher $80,000 $97,002 2024
The Fallon Post NV$260,755 President $40,005 $46,439 2023
Alameda Post Inc CA$227,628 President $15,210 $14,774 2024
Mission Rise Inc CA$265,521 President & Ceo $66,000 $64,106 2024
Brown Girls Doc Mafia Inc NY$222,011 Founder And Co-executive Director $125,000 $130,809 2023
Ad Relief Of Greater Los Angeles CA$219,800 Exec. Director $62,500 $62,500 2023
Fraser Valley Community Media Inc CO$271,734 Executive Director $43,000 $46,379 2024
Armando Info Inc FL$213,376 Director And President $22,240 $23,501 2024
Asian American Media Inc CA$280,899 President $99,512 $96,657 2024
Feet In 2 Worlds Inc NY$281,470 President $38,640 $39,275 2024
Just Facts Inc TX$282,819 President $133,322 $150,014 2024
Kiowa County Ks Media Center KS$288,920 Creative Director $52,134 $63,354 2024
5 Stone Media MN$291,829 Executive Dir. $84,932 $94,400 2024
Cicero Independiente Nfp IL$292,904 President $60,000 $68,311 2023
Watchfire Media Inc CA$195,922 Executive Director $77,200 $74,985 2024
The Record Community News Group IL$298,634 Treasurer $86,961 $96,167 2024
Technology Broadcasting Corporation MA$188,000 Director $75,955 $79,044 2023
Granite State News Collaborative NH$302,569 Executive Director $40,831 $42,409 2024
Unicorn Riot MN$303,413 Board Chair $79,712 $88,598 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 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 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 default61st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)63rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted65th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted61st

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 (Charles J Hamilton) 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 46 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $75,100 is reasonable (approximately the 61st 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.