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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Imagine Scholar Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 273014517
WA · NTEE B82
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 10, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Cortney Johnson, Executive Director / CEO ($97,402) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 206 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 67th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Cortney Johnson — reported title “Executive Dir.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

206 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 206 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$287 total compensation of comparable organizations → $383,817 $97,402
$13,06410th
$30,06225th
$66,992Median
$107,54375th
$144,42090th
$97,402This org · 67th
p10$13,064
p25$30,062
p50$66,992
p75$107,543
p90$144,420
$97,402

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 WA 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
Natural Refrigeration Foundation VA$482,152 Iiar President $365,313 $383,817 2025
Hyde Park Institute IL$483,854 Trustee/dire $148,332 $162,880 2024
Ohio Restaurant Association Education OH$480,705 Executive Director $94,328 $114,886 2023
Black In Ai CA$480,536 Ceo $197,918 $190,887 2024
South Central Section Pga Foundation OK$479,970 Executive Director $25,405 $31,246 2024
Great Sso Inc GA$479,813 President $35,500 $41,047 2023
The Douglas And Frances Lanier Foundation Inc MS$486,469 President $15,750 $19,593 2024
222 Foundation IL$488,843 Executive Director $110,250 $124,639 2023
Hispanic Heritage Scholarship Fund Inc FL$476,823 Executive Director $95,000 $99,681 2024
Warren Alvarado Oslo Public School Education Foundation MN$475,891 Chairman $1,200 $1,363 2023
The Adirondack Scholar Found Inc NY$475,721 Executive Di $19,375 $19,555 2024
Educational Foundation Of The Southeast Texas TX$474,724 Executive Director $137,774 $158,479 2023
Kiwanis Club Of Bradenton Foundation FL$492,276 Executive Director $19,454 $20,413 2024
Center For Advancing Community RI$492,491 Executive Director $134,616 $144,175 2024
Bright Choice Foundation TX$492,742 Ceo $62,083 $71,413 2023
Usa Patriots Veteran Athletics FL$473,066 Executive Director $125,000 $131,159 2024
Secu Md Foundation Inc MD$471,662 Executive Director $98,996 $103,375 2024
National Hook-up Of Black Womenjoliet Chapter IL$494,813 President $48,327 $53,067 2024
Gccs Educational Foundation IN$470,769 Executive Director $83,612 $95,946 2025
Loretta K Vogt Charitable Trust WI$498,412 Trustee $38,022 $44,352 2024
Northern California Laborers CA$498,744 President $149,680 $144,363 2024
Isabella Grimes Educational Fund IL$499,972 Trustee $1,500 $1,647 2024
Nevada Broadcasters Foundation NV$465,663 Executive Di $22,815 $25,543 2024
Scholarship Fund For Rainier Scholars WA$462,794 Director Of Finance And Operations $132,403 $132,403 2024
Center For Inspired Teaching DC$503,338 President And Founder $128,750 $126,194 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WA 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 WA 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 default67th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)74th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted68th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted48th

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 (Cortney Johnson) 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 10, 2026, comparing compensation against 206 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B82), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $97,402 is reasonable (approximately the 67th 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 10, 2026.