Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Baltimore Underground Science Space Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 460738285
MD · NTEE B28
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Joel Tyson, Executive Director / CEO ($1,047) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 702 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 2nd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Joel Tyson — reported title “director”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

702 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 702 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $458,455 $1,047
$6,06010th
$15,39125th
$34,274Median
$58,93475th
$84,62890th
$1,047This org · 2nd
p10$6,060
p25$15,391
p50$34,274
p75$58,934
p90$84,628
$1,047

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 MD 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
Faith Academy Inc FL$121,329 Director $11,850 $11,566 2024
Quality Texas Foundation TX$121,181 Ceo $84,333 $85,385 2025
Butler Foundation IN$121,511 President $64,768 $70,961 2024
Sweet Onion Christian Learning GA$120,925 Executive Di $35,457 $37,040 2024
Life Bridge Inc NH$121,709 Executive Director $65,580 $64,770 2023
Fulton Public Schools Foundation MO$120,573 Executive Di $18,000 $19,808 2024
Educational Foundation Of The AL$121,978 Ceo $151,303 $165,446 2025
Friends And Foundation CA$122,000 Executive Dir. $50,764 $46,887 2023
Georgia College & State University GA$120,519 Executive Director, Ex-officio Gcsu $5,946 $6,211 2024
Sierra Stem CA$120,511 Education Director $21,812 $19,568 2024
Blue Grass Resource Center VA$120,150 Executive Director $26,302 $26,384 2024
Nw Laborers United Training Center WA$120,000 President $90,957 $84,605 2024
Acton Pittsburgh Inc PA$122,587 Sec $5,498 $5,865 2023
William Paterson University Of NJ$119,945 Executive Director $48,380 $46,203 2023
Tri It For Life NC$119,808 Executive Director $23,450 $25,173 2024
San Diego Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy CA$122,800 Head Coach $25,400 $24,422 2022
The Colgate University NY$122,839 Executive Secretary $21,629 $20,905 2023
Rocky Mountain Sustainable Living Assoc CO$122,850 Director $61,215 $60,984 2024
Capitan Public Library Volunteer NM$119,679 Treasurer $2,492 $2,785 2024
Healing Vine Harbor Inc NC$119,646 Executive Director $53,192 $58,788 2023
First State Educate Action Fund Inc DE$123,000 Executive Director $67,207 $68,369 2024
Council On Youth Programs For NY$119,498 President/treas./director $37,449 $35,158 2024
Hope Academy For Dyslexia TX$123,120 Director $24,211 $25,161 2024
Mid-iowa School Improvement Consortium IA$123,397 Project Support/tech Coordinator $57,200 $63,392 2025
Mal 46 CA$123,400 President $70,000 $62,799 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MD cost of living and 2023 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 MD 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 default2nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)1st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted25th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted1st

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 (Joel Tyson) 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 702 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (B), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $1,047 is reasonable (approximately the 2nd 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.