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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Create Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 371836141
TN · NTEE B90
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dorothy Morelli, Executive Director / CEO ($33,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 337 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 33rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Dorothy Morelli — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

337 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 337 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$10 total compensation of comparable organizations → $218,499 $33,000
$10,70010th
$22,80625th
$47,850Median
$69,69675th
$91,54290th
$33,000This org · 33rd
p10$10,700
p25$22,806
p50$47,850
p75$69,696
p90$91,542
$33,000

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 TN 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
Lighthouse Academies Inc FL$218,951 Ceo $145,913 $130,405 2024
Elevate West Alabama AL$218,833 Executive Director $76,249 $76,347 2025
Futuro Inc TN$219,010 Executive Officer $70,000 $70,000 2024
Hodos Institute WA$219,466 President, Board Member $96,500 $84,621 2023
Teachers As Scholars Inc MA$218,356 Director $75,800 $63,131 2025
Learning Environments Action Research TX$219,583 Executive Director (Thru 10/31/24) $54,319 $51,692 2024
Camp Sweet Life Adventures Inc MN$219,685 Exec Director/key Ee $36,750 $35,566 2023
National Bible Bowl FL$218,089 Executive Director $21,538 $19,817 2023
Excel By 5 Inc MS$217,610 Executive Di $97,911 $106,807 2023
Africa Classroom Connection MN$217,595 Secretary/executive Director $40,517 $38,088 2024
Miami Dade Urban Debate League FL$217,220 Program Directo $45,000 $40,217 2024
Central Jersey Rider Training Inc NJ$220,807 Executive Director $47,600 $41,626 2023
Economics Arkansas Foundation AR$220,831 Executive Director $17,065 $18,249 2024
Community Campus VT$221,131 Director $59,510 $56,984 2024
Bayan MI$216,687 President $18,000 $17,675 2024
New Day Ministries Inc KY$221,206 Executive Director $82,167 $86,463 2023
Doc Smith Legacy Foundation CA$216,583 Board Director/executive Director $55,247 $46,726 2023
The Thinking Project Institute CO$221,314 President $102,588 $96,348 2023
Steaming Ahead For Success Inc NM$222,048 Ceo $60,000 $63,207 2023
National Voices For Equality Education And Enlightenment Inc FL$222,277 Executive Director $49,510 $45,555 2023
Stem Leadership Center Inc CT$222,300 Director $37,688 $33,618 2024
Vision Tutoring Educational Foundation Inc GA$222,378 Executive Director $64,418 $63,440 2023
Democrashe CA$214,948 Executive Director $70,000 $57,504 2024
Project Rock South Inc FL$214,815 Program Director $46,416 $41,483 2024
Your Own Greatness Affirmed Inc CA$223,129 Executive Director $70,500 $57,915 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TN 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 TN 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 default33rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)32nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted35th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted30th

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 (Dorothy Morelli) 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 337 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B90), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $33,000 is reasonable (approximately the 33rd 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.