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PeerBasis

Compensation Comparability Determination

Virginia State University Research Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 460666326
VA · NTEE B11
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Makola M Abdullah, Executive Director / CEO ($521,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 9 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 100^th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

How comparable organizations were selected

SectorOrganizations sharing the subject's NTEE classification (B11).
BudgetTotal revenue between $1,340 and $3,000 — 0.67× to 1.50× the subject's $2,000 (the band tightens as size grows).
GeographySame NTEE major group (B), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue.

9 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography → 9 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$8,46210th

$24,13525th

$58,085Median

$88,54875th

$129,32390th

$521,000This org · 100th

p10$8,462

p25$24,135

p50$58,085

p75$88,548

p90$129,323

$521,000

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 VA cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

Organization	State	Total revenue	Total comp	Source
University Technology Development Corporation	NE	$2,029	$58,085	990
Benton Harbor Promise Foundation	MI	$1,703	$9,875	990
Frederick Douglass Entrepreneurial	IL	$1,650	$125,103	990
Digilearn Digital Learning Institute	NC	$1,574	$2,812	990
Os Complex Inc	FL	$1,525	$146,201	990
Noble Family Support Fund	IL	$2,573	$27,660	990
Gtcc Innovative Resources Corp	NC	$2,610	$88,548	990
Montessori In The Park Foundation	AZ	$2,745	$24,135	990
Michigan Biotechnology Institute	MI	$2,936	$66,234	990

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 VA 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

Peer count9 organizations — below 15; treat the percentiles as indicative, not precise. Compensation range $2,812–$146,201; filing years 2023–2025.
Size basisMatched on total revenue ($2,000); for reference, expenses $146,738 and assets $891,951. Revenue and expenses diverge this year — revenue may misrepresent operating size; weigh the expense-based view.
Role matchMakola M Abdullah, reported title "Chairman", benchmarked as Executive Director / CEO. Selected as the organization's highest-paid individual without an exact title match — the board should confirm this is a comparable role.
Related-org pay6 peers report related-organization compensation (column E), which the D + F benchmark does not fully capture; review where material.

Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:

Basis	Subject percentile
Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default	100^th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)	100^th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted	0^th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted	89^th

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

The compensation of the Executive Director / CEO (Makola M Abdullah) was approved in advance by [the Board / Compensation Committee], composed of members with no conflict of interest with respect to the arrangement.
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 9 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (B), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
The authorized body determined that total compensation of $521,000 is reasonable (approximately the 100^th 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). 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.