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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

South Central Library System Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 392020856
WI · NTEE B117
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Martha Van Pelt, Executive Director / CEO ($32,631) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 65 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 69th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

65 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 65 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$194 total compensation of comparable organizations → $212,610 $32,631
$2,03410th
$5,90025th
$15,645Median
$38,14575th
$74,56690th
$32,631This org · 69th
p10$2,034
p25$5,900
p50$15,645
p75$38,145
p90$74,566
$32,631

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 WI 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
Dr J E Green Educational Trust AL$18,849 Trustee $11,975 $12,387 2023
Building Industry Association Of OH$18,843 Executive Director $16,606 $16,841 2023
Faribault Rotary Youth Services Inc MN$19,024 President $6,400 $5,730 2025
Spotsylvania Education Foundation VA$19,043 Executive Director $5,049 $4,668 2023
The Joy School Endowment Fund TX$19,241 School President/head $23,705 $22,054 2024
Highland School Inc WV$19,261 President $500 $490 2025
The Ernest Becker Foundation WA$18,459 Executive Director $14,900 $12,773 2023
Tlbu Foundation Inc NJ$18,289 Secretary/treasurer $30,000 $24,269 2025
Mcgehee Mens Club Inc AR$20,118 Secretary $10,984 $11,483 2024
Wise Earth School Of Ayurveda NC$17,477 President $22,000 $21,142 2024
Readability Matters CO$20,412 Chair $60,000 $53,509 2024
Mabel K Toops Scholarship Trus IN$17,308 Truwstee $250 $245 2024
The Foundation For Chabot-las Positas Community College District CA$20,521 Treasurer $123,893 $99,499 2024
Relife Initiatives Corporation GA$20,705 Ceo $5,495 $5,290 2023
Briercrest College And Seminary Usa WA$20,749 Officer $99,132 $84,983 2023
Huntington Beach City School District CA$16,902 President $11,027 $8,856 2024
Alumnae Association Of The Lenox Hill NY$21,224 President/editor Of Echo $10,000 $8,652 2023
Detroit Musicians Fund MI$16,522 Chair $1,131 $1,086 2024
Sizer School Foundation Inc MA$21,296 Board Memeber $6,749 $5,807 2023
West Hills Christian School Foundation OR$16,427 Director $6,981 $6,208 2023
Reformation Seminary AZ$16,407 Ceo $15,000 $13,417 2024
Norris Square Education Corporation PA$21,499 Ceo-xiente $16,868 $15,645 2024
Southern Association Of Colleges GA$16,218 President $72,013 $69,332 2023
The Professional Institute For PA$21,644 Executive Director $35,000 $33,421 2023
American Schools Association Inc NV$16,138 Chairman $42,000 $38,145 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WI 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 WI 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 default69th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)69th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted72nd

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 (Martha Van Pelt) 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 65 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (B), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $32,631 is reasonable (approximately the 69th 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.