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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Council Of Professional Associations On

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 320444926
DC · NTEE U34
FY ending 2024-09-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Paul Schroeder, Executive Director / CEO ($190,928) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 89 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 98th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

89 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 89 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,856 total compensation of comparable organizations → $334,335 $190,928
$11,93610th
$26,87125th
$53,546Median
$100,41975th
$128,68390th
$190,928This org · 98th
p10$11,936
p25$26,871
p50$53,546
p75$100,419
p90$128,683
$190,928

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 DC 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
Native Skywatchers Incorporated MN$212,233 Director $101,409 $117,561 2023
Talkstem TX$213,328 Ceo $53,505 $60,991 2024
Biosphere Foundation CA$208,578 President $20,000 $19,680 2024
Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network TX$207,480 Executive Director $88,500 $100,883 2024
Octo WA$215,773 Director And President $110,000 $112,228 2024
International Microwave Power Institute VA$206,535 Executive Director $47,754 $54,096 2023
Washington State Academy Of Sciences WA$218,480 Executive Director $9,962 $10,164 2024
Institute For Broadening Participation ME$203,434 Executive Director $69,739 $81,929 2023
University Consortium For Geographic Info Science VA$202,880 Executive Director $44,363 $48,813 2024
Metaverse Standards Forum Inc OR$220,420 Executive Director $54,360 $59,227 2023
Tek Collaborative Inc MA$221,205 President $95,250 $100,419 2023
Median Foundation CA$221,309 Director, Secretary $31,950 $32,368 2023
P3 Exhibits Corporation CA$201,421 Director $25,501 $25,093 2024
Rocky Mtn Mathematics Consortium I AZ$222,354 President $105,194 $115,287 2024
The Lawn Institute Foundation IL$223,122 Executive Director $10,775 $12,428 2023
At The Epicenter CO$223,582 Diretor $4,500 $5,062 2023
The Marine Research Hub FL$199,048 Executive Director $47,349 $50,689 2024
American Technical Education Association MN$224,689 Executive Dir. $98,108 $110,471 2024
Sarah Mack Scicomm Inc PA$227,239 Executive Director $118,065 $134,170 2024
Klamath Outdoor Science School OR$230,487 Assistant Executive Director $56,293 $61,333 2023
Riseup Labs WA$231,709 Treasurer $13,202 $13,867 2023
Csrm Foundation Inc MD$189,087 Vice President $27,808 $30,501 2023
Fresh Pond Research Institute Inc MA$234,990 President $57,000 $58,370 2024
Advanced Heliophysics CA$235,524 President Ceo $122,018 $123,614 2023
Adirondack Public Observatory Inc NY$185,687 Administrator $28,404 $29,249 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to DC 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 DC 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 default98th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)99th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted99th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted89th

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 (Paul Schroeder) 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 89 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (U), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $190,928 is reasonable (approximately the 98th 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.