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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Society For The Advancement Of

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 382325364
MI · NTEE V23Z
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dr Maria Malott, Executive Director / CEO ($12,081) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 11 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 0th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Dr Maria Malott — reported title “SECRETARY-TR”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

11 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 11 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$16,922 total compensation of comparable organizations → $146,627 $12,081
$24,96110th
$31,55125th
$59,014Median
$83,33275th
$93,51090th
$12,081This org · 0th
p10$24,961
p25$31,551
p50$59,014
p75$83,332
p90$93,510
$12,081

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 MI 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
Police Data Accessibility Project Inc PA$104,978 Executive Director $60,000 $56,306 2024
St Francis Springs Columbarium And Memorial Garden Inc NC$112,560 Executive Director $89,904 $85,164 2025
Institute For Southern Studies Inc NC$112,670 Executive Dir. $146,471 $146,627 2023
State Tax Research Institute DC$96,500 Director/president $71,239 $60,566 2023
Minnesota Gerontological Society MN$93,441 Co-exec Dire $36,742 $35,174 2023
Institute For Diversity And Civic Life TX$88,898 Executive Director $26,517 $24,961 2024
Foundation Of The Energy Law Journal DC$122,322 Chief Executive Officer $20,492 $16,922 2024
The Beautywell Project MN$131,188 Executive Director $85,134 $81,500 2023
Functional Behavior Interventions VA$137,082 Executive Di $63,086 $59,014 2023
Institute For Patent Studies Inc NY$148,207 President $109,967 $93,510 2024
Upaya Organization For CO$155,927 Director/pre $30,950 $27,927 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MI 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 MI 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 default0th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)0th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted91st

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 (Dr Maria Malott) 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 11 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (V), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $12,081 is reasonable (approximately the 0th 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.