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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Ideas Institute

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 341905156
OH · NTEE C60
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Margaret Calkins, Executive Director / CEO ($42,077) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 18 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 44th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Margaret Calkins — reported title “Board Chair and Senior Researcher”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

18 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 18 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,585 total compensation of comparable organizations → $110,062 $42,077
$8,93810th
$29,53725th
$43,811Median
$53,14475th
$63,94190th
$42,077This org · 44th
p10$8,938
p25$29,537
p50$43,811
p75$53,144
p90$63,941
$42,077

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
Citizens For A Better South Florida Inc FL$141,301 Executive Director $48,195 $42,747 2024
Friends Of Rose Canyon CA$134,305 President $55,041 $44,874 2024
The Center For Transformation Inc NJ$150,374 Co-executive Director $72,000 $62,487 2023
California Greenworks Inc CA$120,903 President $58,208 $48,857 2023
Foundation For Ohio River Education OH$157,120 Secretary $28,400 $29,239 2023
Mission Resolve Foundation Inc FL$111,717 Treasurer $3,227 $2,946 2023
Echoes Of Nature Inc MD$166,672 Board Member $13,035 $11,506 2024
River In Action CA$109,683 President $62,413 $49,572 2025
Social Compassion CA$169,226 President, Founder, Ceo $135,000 $110,062 2024
Yew Mountain Center WV$171,890 Executive Director $30,003 $30,671 2024
Tuscarora Wildlife Education Projec PA$102,741 Exec. Direct $14,400 $13,558 2024
Walking Humbly Outdoor Adventures Inc KY$99,435 Secretary $2,475 $2,585 2023
Riverside Nature Center Association TX$184,301 Executive Director $50,000 $48,617 2023
Scraplanta Inc GA$193,209 Executive Director $32,902 $30,430 2025
Agramonte Ranch Research And CA$198,920 Ceo $82,591 $67,334 2024
Huneebee Project Inc CT$202,026 Executive Director $59,616 $54,334 2023
The Charles Koiner Center For Urban Farming Incorporated MD$204,075 Executive Director $34,992 $30,887 2024
Environmental Education Council Of Oh In OH$205,932 Executive Director $56,255 $57,917 2023

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 default44th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)44th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted44th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted39th

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 (Margaret Calkins) 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 18 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $42,077 is reasonable (approximately the 44th 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.