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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Bay Valley Chinese School

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 460465955
CA · NTEE B28
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Liwen C Lin, Executive Director / CEO ($6,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 24 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 4th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Liwen C Lin — reported title “PRINCIPAL”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

24 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 24 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,197 total compensation of comparable organizations → $132,778 $6,000
$14,73910th
$31,62525th
$48,072Median
$63,57575th
$76,03390th
$6,000This org · 4th
p10$14,739
p25$31,625
p50$48,072
p75$63,575
p90$76,033
$6,000

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 CA 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
Lifepoint Inc TX$140,696 Executive Di $40,473 $48,126 2024
Chinese School Of San Diego CA$141,454 School Princ $62,810 $64,472 2024
The Foundation For Deaf Education Inc NY$144,315 Ex-officio $57,290 $63,356 2023
Accessible Arts Vsa Kansas Inc KS$134,094 Executive Director $55,607 $71,411 2024
Ottley Music School Inc MD$131,991 Secretary/principal $21,070 $24,107 2023
Asociacion De Personas Con Impedimentos Inc PR$126,870 Executive Director $11,000 $11,291 2024
Boston Lithuanian School MA$124,470 Principal $11,994 $12,482 2025
Baltimore Underground Science Space Inc MD$121,272 Director $1,047 $1,197 2023
Opportunities Collaborative For Students NY$160,000 Executive Director $88,077 $94,608 2024
Hawthorn Montessori School NC$161,527 Director $51,211 $61,279 2025
Noorthoek Academy MI$168,197 Executive Director $52,352 $64,233 2024
New Horizon Academy For Exceptional Studentsinc FL$106,713 President $28,206 $32,428 2023
California Technical Assistance Center CA$175,447 Ceo-president $46,780 $48,018 2024
Fdr Corp NV$181,714 Corporate Officer $39,798 $47,421 2024
Thrive International Programs Inc PA$193,202 Board Member And Executive Director Of Organization $28,435 $34,703 2023
American Educational Studies Assoc IL$197,734 Executive Di $25,000 $29,216 2024
Enlighten Learning Resource Inc CA$204,112 Executive Director And Tutor $53,760 $55,182 2024
Young Scientist Academy NC$204,796 Director $52,083 $62,322 2025
Institute Of Arts Music & Science CA$207,449 Director $48,000 $49,270 2024
Interplay Orchestra Inc MD$208,276 Secretary - Partial Year $18,000 $20,004 2024
Accorda Music Thanatology Inst NV$209,536 Exec Director $31,200 $37,177 2024
Illinois Special Education Charter IL$210,000 Executive Director $110,357 $132,778 2023
Re The Regenerative School TN$210,456 Director $60,645 $78,014 2023
The Uniquely Abled Project CA$210,569 Founder & Pres. $38,433 $39,450 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA cost of living and 2025 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 CA 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 default4th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)4th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted8th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted4th

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 (Liwen C Lin) 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 24 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B28), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $6,000 is reasonable (approximately the 4th 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.