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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Creative Strategies For Change

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 462083929
CO · NTEE B99
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Theresa Gatewood, Executive Director / CEO ($82,181) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 16 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: Theresa Gatewood — reported title “Executive Dir.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

16 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 16 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$15,231 total compensation of comparable organizations → $163,140 $82,181
$41,92310th
$63,73025th
$99,640Median
$121,61475th
$142,44590th
$82,181This org · 38th
p10$41,923
p25$63,730
p50$99,640
p75$121,614
p90$142,445
$82,181

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 CO 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
Colorado Agricultural Leadership CO$435,088 Ceo $48,000 $46,623 2024
Colorado High School Coaches Association Inc CO$400,414 Executive Director $72,141 $70,071 2024
District Twelve Educators' Association CO$386,999 President $134,965 $131,093 2024
Hawkquest CO$465,359 Executive Di $110,475 $107,305 2024
The Hive Dgo CO$366,407 Executive Dir. $54,248 $52,692 2024
Action Mile High Foundation CO$489,906 Coo $118,454 $118,454 2023
Heartlight Center Inc CO$359,354 Executive Dir. $91,975 $91,975 2023
Denver Biennial Of The Americas CO$344,954 Executive Di $167,959 $163,140 2024
Academy For International School Heads CO$341,123 Ceo $158,055 $153,520 2024
Masa Seed Foundation CO$520,081 Executive Dir. $38,322 $37,223 2024
Vail Symposium CO$534,306 Executive Dir. $135,250 $131,370 2024
Westminster Afc Inc CO$297,458 Executive Director $15,231 $15,231 2023
Psychedelic Research And Training Institute CO$559,658 President $116,920 $113,566 2024
Teaching Peace Inc CO$560,596 Executive Di $117,751 $114,373 2024
Azmera CO$595,488 Director $69,400 $67,409 2024
Pop Culture Classroom CO$626,692 Executive Director $87,132 $87,132 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CO 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 CO 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), adjusted44th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted38th

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 (Theresa Gatewood) 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 16 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B99) + CO + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $82,181 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.