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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Real Program Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 463105431
MA · NTEE B92
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jan Plourde, Executive Director / CEO ($51,050) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 34 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: Jan Plourde — 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

34 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 34 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$5 total compensation of comparable organizations → $131,401 $51,050
$10,49110th
$32,30725th
$61,081Median
$69,00275th
$75,81190th
$51,050This org · 38th
p10$10,491
p25$32,307
p50$61,081
p75$69,002
p90$75,811
$51,050

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 MA 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
Books Inc's Reading Bridge CA$245,325 Executive Director (Part Year) $3,219 $3,093 2024
Literacy Action Of Central Arkansas Inc AR$251,341 Exec Director $51,600 $64,545 2024
Mid-state Literacy Council Inc PA$256,728 Executive Director $64,153 $71,193 2024
Street Books OR$257,697 Executive Director $5 $5 2023
Rowan County Literacy Council Inc NC$259,540 Executive Di $33,808 $38,874 2024
The Literacy Connection IL$236,641 Executive Dir. $57,429 $64,685 2023
Literacy Volunteers - Winchester Area VA$236,012 Executive Dir. $62,450 $69,084 2023
Girls On The Run Of Greater Rochester NY$233,308 Executive Director $61,034 $61,374 2024
Family Reading Partnership NY$232,136 Executive Director $64,104 $64,461 2024
Friends Of Literacy Inc TN$232,045 Executive Director $65,948 $77,141 2024
Read To Succeed TN$230,802 Executive Director $51,967 $60,787 2024
Illinois Association For The Education Of Young Children IL$228,890 Executive Director $47,678 $52,161 2024
Infinite Scholars Program Of Missouri MO$223,318 President Ceo $15,900 $19,294 2023
Uplift Literacy Inc FL$282,525 Executive Director $52,200 $53,163 2025
St Louis Black Authors Of Childrens Literature MO$289,700 President $42,262 $49,812 2024
Decode Project Inc KY$204,353 Executive Director $60,951 $70,994 2025
The Center A Drop-in Community CT$299,654 Executive Dir. $52,700 $54,987 2024
Hope Tutoring Center Inc TX$194,528 Former Exec Dir $24,709 $27,505 2024
Palmetto State Literacy Associaton SC$303,184 Treasurer $12,000 $13,931 2024
Capital Area Literacy Coalition MI$191,294 Director $59,860 $68,756 2024
Learning Is For Tomorrow Inc MD$305,217 Executive Di $90,066 $91,288 2025
Kern Literacy Council CA$188,636 Executive Dir $84,375 $81,078 2024
Family Literacy Network Inc TX$309,744 Director $8,100 $9,017 2024
Readwest Inc NM$185,502 Exec Dir $61,867 $72,140 2025
Freedom Readers Inc SC$185,335 National Dir $36,250 $43,328 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MA 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 MA 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)41st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted38th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted35th

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 (Jan Plourde) 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 34 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B92), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $51,050 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.