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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Vbr Research And Education

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 460716588
VT · NTEE B12
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Mary Sheahan, Executive Director / CEO ($41,981) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 85 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 38th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Mary Sheahan — reported title “ED VT TALENT PIPELINE”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

85 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 85 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,011 total compensation of comparable organizations → $263,632 $41,981
$19,29110th
$30,03025th
$54,048Median
$86,61675th
$121,20590th
$41,981This org · 38th
p10$19,291
p25$30,030
p50$54,048
p75$86,616
p90$121,205
$41,981

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
Saint Sebastian Project Inc CA$447,196 Executive Director $27,000 $23,163 2024
Quincy Catholic Elementary Schools IL$443,476 Executive Di $72,800 $71,107 2024
Developmental Educational Services PA$449,301 Executive Director $10,528 $10,431 2024
Wakiya Foundation Inc VA$450,050 President $27,500 $28,273 2022
Our Grounds Inc FL$454,334 Executive Director And Occupational Therapist $83,077 $77,539 2024
South Carolina First Steps To SC$454,600 Executive Di $75,960 $81,057 2023
Philadelphia Middle College Foundation PA$455,182 Director $40,000 $39,631 2024
Three Oclock Project LA$455,968 Executive Di $85,000 $95,737 2023
Colorado School Finance Project Inc CO$434,220 Executive Director $128,414 $119,182 2025
United World Schools Usa Inc NJ$457,065 Executive Director $150,000 $133,058 2024
Fillmore Community Auction MN$432,357 President $1,000 $1,011 2023
Friends Of Woodstock School Inc WA$459,722 Administrative Manager $58,667 $53,726 2023
The Partnership Plan For Stillwater MN$430,355 Executive Di $38,978 $38,265 2024
Rising Act Films Inc GA$426,726 President $104,000 $103,892 2024
Honored Foundation DC$424,358 Executive Director - Term End 10/2024 $140,569 $122,554 2024
Edina Give And Go MN$421,928 Executive Di $52,050 $49,780 2025
District 51 Foundation CO$418,802 Executive Di $20,558 $20,163 2023
Philadelphia Robotics Coalition Inc PA$418,401 Executive Director $80,000 $79,262 2024
12tribe Films Foundation NY$418,314 Board Member $13,771 $12,363 2024
Friends Of Israel Sci-tech Schools NY$472,876 Executive Di $69,659 $64,385 2023
Cuny School Of Labor And Urban Studies NY$412,275 Executive Director (To Dec '23) $38,553 $34,612 2024
Corporate Tax Foundation AZ$482,198 President $23,416 $22,374 2024
Helena Education Foundation MT$407,493 Executive Director $80,640 $88,913 2023
Butte County Office Of Education CA$400,115 Trustee $37,846 $33,427 2023
Howard Co Public Schools Education Fndn MD$399,896 Executive Director $67,250 $64,310 2023

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 default38th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)38th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted89th

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 (Mary Sheahan) 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 85 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B12), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $41,981 is reasonable (approximately the 38th 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.