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

Western Montana Professional Learning

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 462510133
MT · NTEE B60
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Erin Lipkind, Executive Director / CEO ($17,883) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 143 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 11th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Erin Lipkind — reported title “CO-DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

143 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 143 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$987 total compensation of comparable organizations → $236,616 $17,883
$14,85410th
$39,32325th
$61,383Median
$81,79675th
$119,09190th
$17,883This org · 11th
p10$14,854
p25$39,323
p50$61,383
p75$81,796
p90$119,091
$17,883

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 MT 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
Des-cpr Inc PA$451,312 Executive Director $60,515 $54,378 2024
Southern California Regional Transit CA$455,596 Executive Dir. $163,500 $127,216 2024
The Workwell Partnership NJ$455,944 Executive Dir. $46,250 $37,209 2024
Massachusetts Center For The Book Inc MA$444,618 Executive Director $88,250 $69,617 2025
Mv Center For Education And Training (Mvcet) MA$458,472 Executive Director $13,416 $11,184 2023
East Coast Core PA$460,000 Secretary $8,000 $7,188 2024
Literacy Volunteers Of Charlottesvilleabermarle VA$461,974 Executive Director $87,500 $76,128 2024
Nccpa Health Foundation Inc GA$435,893 President And Ceo, Nccpa $93,946 $85,117 2024
Maimonides Heritage Center Ltd NY$435,255 Founder & Dean $65,000 $52,925 2024
Senior Citizens Activities Network NJ$466,645 Executive Di $72,402 $59,969 2023
Charlotte Mason Educational Center Of PA$467,511 Executive Director $72,847 $63,772 2025
Midwest Implant Institute Inc OH$468,195 Co-director $40,000 $39,303 2023
Maker Works Community Workshops MI$431,266 Executive Di $19,392 $18,036 2024
Voca Center Inc NY$421,632 Director/president $126,710 $103,173 2024
Your Money Matters WA$479,748 Founder $120,588 $97,283 2024
Texas Choral Directors Association TX$419,703 Executive Di $97,978 $88,313 2024
Strategic Education International VA$419,700 Executive Director $194,240 $173,987 2023
Literacy Network Of South Berkshire Inc MA$419,592 Executive Director $100,534 $81,405 2024
Texas Bar College TX$482,376 Executive Director Tbc $16,090 $14,503 2024
New Direction Services Inc NY$483,363 Executive Dir. $52,879 $44,328 2023
Financial Health Institute Npo CO$416,846 Founding Dir $24,000 $20,736 2024
Fannie Lou Hamer Cancer Foundation MS$488,220 President/ce $138,132 $142,721 2023
Professional Psych Seminars CA$412,099 Pres & Director $51,900 $39,342 2025
Texas Apartment Association Education TX$412,003 Ceo $50,298 $45,337 2024
Why Not Win Institute Inc AL$411,158 Former - Ed $85,000 $82,744 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MT 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 MT 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 default11th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)10th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted15th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted9th

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 (Erin Lipkind) 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 143 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $17,883 is reasonable (approximately the 11th 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.