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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Science And Entrepreneurship Exchange

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 462597736
IL · NTEE B99
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Tiernan Murrell, Executive Director / CEO ($73,655) 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 63rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Tiernan Murrell — reported title “Secretary”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable 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

$11,648 total compensation of comparable organizations → $124,800 $73,655
$30,83910th
$53,94225th
$64,780Median
$82,65375th
$114,22490th
$73,655This org · 63rd
p10$30,839
p25$53,942
p50$64,780
p75$82,653
p90$114,224
$73,655

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 IL 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
Heritage Museum Of Asian Art IL$459,798 Treasurer $62,500 $60,707 2024
Thousand Waves Foundation Nfp IL$484,789 Executive Di $76,573 $74,376 2024
The Blessed Child IL$494,874 President $11,992 $11,648 2024
Ace Mentor Program Of Illinois Inc IL$498,311 Executive Director $66,425 $66,425 2023
One Solution Foundation Inc IL$400,202 Executive Director $61,004 $61,004 2023
Urbana Theological Seminary IL$524,250 Board Member $80,760 $78,443 2024
Public Narrative IL$543,060 President $124,800 $124,800 2023
Lead Education Group Inc IL$547,382 President $98,097 $95,283 2024
Ebenezeer Community Outreach IL$345,180 President $131,418 $124,357 2025
Asianetwork Inc IL$341,405 Executive Director $23,500 $22,826 2024
Cornerstone Academy IL$339,889 Principal $70,000 $67,992 2024
Parenteach Institute IL$587,844 Executive Director $110,000 $104,090 2025
Sisters Working It Out IL$325,802 President $65,000 $63,135 2024
National Railroad Hall Of Fame Inc IL$311,239 Executive Director $40,000 $38,852 2024
Chicago Free School IL$647,499 President (Beg 6/30/24) $59,433 $57,728 2024
Central States Numismatic Society IL$674,555 President $45,000 $42,582 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL 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 IL 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 default63rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)63rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted69th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted56th

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 (Tiernan Murrell) 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) + IL + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $73,655 is reasonable (approximately the 63rd 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.