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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Molluscan Science Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 463208917
MD · NTEE U21
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Judith Gale, Executive Director / CEO ($24,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 105 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: Judith Gale — reported title “VICE PRESIDE”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

105 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 105 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$3,439 total compensation of comparable organizations → $627,207 $24,000
$61,76410th
$139,77925th
$211,304Median
$292,57575th
$410,31090th
$24,000This org · 2nd
p10$61,764
p25$139,779
p50$211,304
p75$292,575
p90$410,310
$24,000

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
Astrophysical Research Consortium WA$5,210,557 Business Manager $143,288 $137,219 2024
Alignment Research Center CA$5,219,369 President $341,265 $315,200 2024
Consortium Of Universities For The MA$5,262,279 Executive Director $172,471 $170,672 2023
Apprise Incorporated NJ$5,130,331 Managing Dir. $253,175 $241,783 2024
The Scintillon Institute CA$5,125,626 President & Ceo $42,582 $39,330 2024
🔒 100 more comparable organizations — included in the purchased report

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MD 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 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)2nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted11th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted2nd

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:

Ready-to-adopt board minutes — executive compensation

🔒 The complete minutes language — three numbered resolutions pre-filled with this organization, the 105-organization comparison, the date, and the percentile finding, ready to paste into your minutes — is included in the purchased report.

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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.