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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Vermont Energy Education Program Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 455591876
VT · NTEE B99
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sophia Donforth, Executive Director / CEO ($74,504) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 426 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 58th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Sophia Donforth — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

426 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 426 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$125 total compensation of comparable organizations → $317,727 $74,504
$16,59010th
$39,45825th
$65,596Median
$91,57575th
$126,50190th
$74,504This org · 58th
p10$16,590
p25$39,458
p50$65,596
p75$91,575
p90$126,501
$74,504

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 VT 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
Spirit Of Youth AK$457,289 Executive Dir. $88,833 $84,378 2024
Science And Entrepreneurship Exchange IL$458,706 Secretary $73,655 $74,067 2023
Global Education Center TN$458,936 Executive Director $44,400 $45,173 2025
Partners In Change Inc GA$455,719 Ceo, Vice Board Chair $5,000 $5,143 2023
Communities In Schools NC$459,583 Executive Dir. $58,102 $61,407 2023
Botanical Bus CA$455,172 Exec Direc/ Board Pres $74,880 $66,138 2023
Heritage Museum Of Asian Art IL$459,798 Treasurer $62,500 $61,047 2024
Upper Valley Trails Alliance VT$460,319 Executive Di $79,508 $79,508 2024
Arbutus Folk School WA$460,522 Executive Di $51,093 $45,447 2024
Mychild'scancer Inc NJ$454,068 President / Secretary / Executive Director $26,000 $23,745 2023
Elevate Dallas TX$461,045 Executive Di $22,300 $22,162 2024
Empire 8 NY$453,359 Commissioner $181,158 $162,638 2024
New England Preparatory School MA$462,462 Communicatio $22,038 $20,257 2023
Business History Conference DE$451,653 Secretary $20,000 $19,456 2024
The Teachers Lounge Inc MA$463,525 Executive Director $87,502 $80,429 2023
Una Vida Esta Vida CA$464,152 President $14,500 $12,440 2024
Steamimagine VA$464,600 President $20,000 $19,186 2024
Derry Preschool Inc PA$450,059 Treasurer $55,000 $53,087 2025
The Conscious Kid CA$465,081 Executive Dir. $135,000 $115,817 2024
Hawkquest CO$465,359 Executive Di $110,475 $105,245 2024
Georgia Coalition For Higher GA$466,026 Co-exec Dire $123,476 $120,169 2025
American Association Of Bovine OH$466,561 Executive Di $50,248 $54,437 2023
Edina Education Fund MN$448,216 Executive Director $60,008 $57,392 2025
Romanza St Augustine Inc FL$446,105 President $4,000 $3,843 2023
Uncw Research Foundation NC$444,105 President $54,419 $54,425 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VT 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 VT 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 default58th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)57th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted60th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted52nd

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 (Sophia Donforth) 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 426 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $74,504 is reasonable (approximately the 58th 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.