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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Autism Empowerment

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 452455219
WA · NTEE G84
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 13, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Shasti Mclaughlin, Executive Director / CEO ($1,800) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 32 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: Shasti Mclaughlin — reported title “Board Member”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

32 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 32 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$6,098 total compensation of comparable organizations → $115,862 $1,800
$11,60610th
$22,64225th
$40,766Median
$75,34075th
$98,24990th
$1,800This org · 0th
p10$11,606
p25$22,642
p50$40,766
p75$75,340
p90$98,249
$1,800

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 WA 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
The Whole Spectrum Autism Foundation NJ$276,577 Ceo $8,640 $8,369 2024
Autism Care Today CA$294,338 Director $64,498 $62,207 2023
The Color Of Autism Foundation MI$262,020 Chief Executive Officer $85,300 $98,339 2023
5-eleven Hoops CA$260,670 Executive Director $25,600 $23,983 2024
Community For Autism And Motor Planning AZ$306,925 Interim Executive Director $23,111 $24,825 2023
Abilities Workshop Inc FL$257,827 Director $40,000 $40,766 2024
Autism After 21 Inc FL$254,859 Director $40,000 $40,766 2024
Every Child CA$311,793 Vice President $35,890 $33,622 2024
Independent Identity TX$320,346 Executive Director $88,892 $99,318 2023
Feat Of Louisville Inc KY$326,810 Executive Di $70,025 $84,030 2023
Seads Of Love PA$237,579 Gm/president $15,933 $17,747 2023
Autism Society Northwestern Pennsylvania PA$328,542 Executive Director $65,039 $72,443 2023
Asls Incorporated CA$231,051 President $8,899 $8,583 2023
Hunt2heal MI$226,580 Executive Director $56,750 $61,910 2025
Asd Adult Achievement Center Inc FL$218,689 President $26,900 $28,226 2023
Autism Project Inc MD$348,170 Director $95,723 $99,957 2023
Ag For Autism AR$216,270 Assistant $5,000 $6,098 2024
Autism Society Of The Keys Inc FL$211,036 Executive Dir. $65,000 $68,203 2023
Autism Trust Usa TX$208,305 Secretary $40,220 $44,937 2023
International Society For Austism FL$205,078 Executive Di $18,270 $18,620 2024
Multicultural Autism Action Network MN$203,519 Executive Director $39,495 $42,339 2024
Care Warriors Inc TX$362,855 Ceo/executive Director $10,656 $11,564 2024
Creative Arts Therapy Center Inc MO$363,742 Music Therapist $62,990 $72,380 2024
Coles Horse Autism Therapy Station VA$199,361 Sec/treasurer $11,109 $11,981 2023
Garretts Place Life Skills Center For Autism MI$196,480 Executive Director $13,594 $15,222 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WA 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 WA 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), adjusted0th

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 (Shasti Mclaughlin) 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 13, 2026, comparing compensation against 32 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (G84), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $1,800 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 13, 2026.