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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Bay State Learning Center

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 463450514
MA · NTEE B99
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of George Popham, Executive Director / CEO ($43,510) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 398 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 34th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: George Popham — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

398 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 398 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$137 total compensation of comparable organizations → $300,854 $43,510
$13,94410th
$33,63125th
$56,505Median
$81,36075th
$112,01090th
$43,510This org · 34th
p10$13,944
p25$33,631
p50$56,505
p75$81,360
p90$112,010
$43,510

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
African Voices Communications Inc NY$270,782 Executive Director $65,000 $65,362 2023
Ready For Reading Inc VT$270,629 Executive Dir. $2,000 $2,240 2023
Freedom Synergy Corporation FL$270,626 President $96,000 $97,480 2024
Girls With Books CO$270,613 Executive Director $61,920 $64,177 2024
Oaktown Jazz Workshops CA$271,149 Executive Dir. $65,971 $61,574 2024
American Research Universities TN$270,369 President $80,000 $88,551 2025
Ace Mentor Program Of Eastern Pa Inc PA$271,345 Affiliate Dir. $68,477 $75,992 2023
The Penitent Thief Inc FL$270,246 President $36,000 $36,555 2024
Puerto Rico Advance Institute Corp PR$271,647 Manager $9,287 $9,021 2024
Wyomissing Area Education PA$269,785 Executive Di $34,752 $37,459 2024
Abbeville Institute Ltd AL$271,961 President Di $114,583 $133,803 2024
Winners Inc TX$271,992 President/director $100,000 $108,123 2024
Jireh Homeschool Cooperative TN$269,424 President $16,950 $18,761 2025
Progressive Learning Academy For Young Childrenearly Childhood Center MI$269,096 Director $38,677 $49,950 2021
Client Assistance Program WA$269,011 Executive Director $91,650 $88,693 2024
Indiana American Family IN$268,785 Executive Di $111,227 $126,784 2024
New Michigan Media MI$273,125 President $30,000 $33,470 2024
The Samuel School PA$268,506 Principal $132,381 $139,016 2025
Upstart Crow Studios OR$268,389 Artistic Director $45,000 $46,504 2023
Conductability Inc CA$273,357 Program Director $113,322 $105,770 2024
Wordwalk Inc FL$274,090 Executive Di $3,000 $3,046 2024
Nantucket Comedy Festival Inc MA$267,526 Executive Director $55,000 $53,422 2024
J Kirby Simon Foreign Service DC$274,417 Trustee $5,000 $4,743 2024
A One Room Schoolhouse A Hybrid Homeschool Academy PA$274,764 President $25,000 $27,744 2023
Ohio School Psychologists OH$266,818 Executive Di $56,963 $65,213 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MA 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 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 default34th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)38th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted37th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted30th

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 (George Popham) 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 398 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $43,510 is reasonable (approximately the 34th 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.