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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Family Learning Institute

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 383514675
MI · NTEE B20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sharine Buddin, Executive Director / CEO ($51,830) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 31 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 94th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Sharine Buddin — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

31 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 31 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$691 total compensation of comparable organizations → $77,172 $51,830
$7,09610th
$10,17025th
$21,977Median
$37,10775th
$44,23690th
$51,830This org · 94th
p10$7,096
p25$10,170
p50$21,977
p75$37,107
p90$44,236
$51,830

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
Living Way Academy Inc GA$128,253 President $11,200 $10,598 2024
Abbie S New School Inc PR$124,643 Executive Director $7,096 $7,096 2023
Hope Academy For Dyslexia TX$123,120 Director $24,211 $22,790 2024
Friendship Christian School Inc KY$132,251 Vice President $12,506 $12,318 2025
Trinity Classical Christian Academy WA$116,920 Director $31,847 $26,831 2024
Frederick East Classical Inc MD$137,570 Executive Director $15,416 $13,963 2023
Stonebridge Academy Institute OK$113,838 Director $12,586 $12,706 2025
Martin County Education Association FL$140,809 President $87,296 $77,172 2024
King's Christian Academy Inc VA$141,633 Director/teacher $32,185 $28,490 2025
Literacy For Kids Inc MI$143,306 Executive Di $65,000 $65,000 2023
East Central Illinois Christian School IL$108,457 Bookkeeper $15,008 $13,527 2025
Xilin North Shore Chinese School IL$148,087 Principal $10,046 $9,294 2024
California Teachers Associations CA$155,506 President $9,400 $7,638 2024
Foundation For Excellence In Public Education In Clarke County Ga Inc GA$97,615 Exec. Director $10,000 $9,741 2023
Bailiwicks Enrichment Campus FL$96,742 President And Executive Director $9,280 $8,446 2023
Northwest Ohio Educational OH$156,939 Executive Director $39,000 $37,870 2025
Rooted Collaborative TX$94,025 Director $22,000 $20,175 2025
Trustees Of Hopkins Academy MA$93,922 President $2,000 $1,741 2023
Oak Trails School Inc MI$159,435 President $47,355 $45,996 2024
Diablo Valley School CA$92,884 Trustee $28,338 $22,433 2025
The Portsmouth Schools Foundation VA$89,951 Executive Di $43,333 $40,536 2023
Virginia Association Of Science VA$164,234 Executive Director $40,000 $36,344 2024
Trinity Learning Center MO$164,589 Director $22,050 $21,977 2024
Asa Christian Academy FL$170,116 Executive Director $42,000 $38,226 2023
The Greenhouse Schoolinc MA$173,484 Executive Di $6,300 $5,485 2023

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 default94th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)94th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted94th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted94th

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 (Sharine Buddin) 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 31 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $51,830 is reasonable (approximately the 94th 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.