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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Epoch Public Media Seattle

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 455613325
WA · NTEE B990
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Ying Liu, Executive Director / CEO ($4,779) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 183 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 5th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Ying Liu — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

183 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 183 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$211 total compensation of comparable organizations → $310,885 $4,779
$13,54610th
$26,07025th
$50,668Median
$78,46775th
$100,30590th
$4,779This org · 5th
p10$13,546
p25$26,070
p50$50,668
p75$78,467
p90$100,305
$4,779

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
Arts Align All Inc WI$164,616 President $40,838 $47,637 2024
The Spark Inc KS$164,994 Executive Director $64,231 $79,794 2023
Delaware Careplan Inc DE$166,166 Executive Director $15,149 $16,568 2024
Sc Ag-in-the-classroom Fund SC$167,533 President $72,480 $84,456 2024
Fem Empowerment Movement CA$168,811 Secretary $104,168 $100,468 2024
The Nourishment Projects Nfp IL$158,876 President $90,000 $101,746 2023
Creative Adventuresinc MD$158,252 Creative Director $70,000 $73,096 2024
Satvatove Institute Inc FL$158,205 Executive Di $83,160 $89,835 2023
Lohan School Of Shaolin NV$169,986 Corporate Officer $41,875 $48,268 2023
Solvang School Education Foundation CA$170,182 President & Ceo $18,000 $16,913 2025
Education In Dance And NJ$170,931 Vice President $191,743 $191,215 2024
Marriage And Relationship Education Center Inc MD$171,221 Executive Director $47,508 $51,074 2023
Microfinance Opportunities MA$156,708 Executive Director $1,000 $1,034 2023
Research Support Fund MA$171,417 Board President $37,776 $37,916 2024
Challenger Learning Center Of NY$155,858 Executive Di $25,090 $25,323 2024
The Home Team - Miami Inc FL$173,584 Director $79,425 $83,339 2024
The Gardens Edge Inc NM$154,271 Executive Dir. $14,400 $17,810 2023
Independent Television Festival Inc MN$174,027 Ceo/executive Director $16,667 $18,938 2023
Los Medanos College Foundation CA$174,647 Director - Lmc President (July -Dec) $25,994 $25,811 2023
Jewels Academy IA$174,974 President $39,582 $48,408 2024
Tennessee Advocates For Planned TN$175,276 Executive Di $95,771 $112,440 2024
Church Leadership Development TX$175,460 President $76,920 $88,480 2023
Friends Of Transit AZ$176,478 Executive Director $90,000 $96,677 2024
Lectica Inc Fka Dev Test Svs MA$176,554 Pres, Treas, Clerk $51,193 $52,900 2023
Unity Foundation ME$177,085 Ceo/chairman $86,544 $99,653 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WA 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 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 default5th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)5th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted13th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted5th

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 (Ying Liu) 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 183 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $4,779 is reasonable (approximately the 5th 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.