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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Kentucky Center For Public Service Journalism

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 463464828
KY · NTEE B99
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Judith Clabes, Executive Director / CEO ($75,200) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 437 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 74th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Judith Clabes — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

437 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 437 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$114 total compensation of comparable organizations → $256,710 $75,200
$12,82410th
$30,57525th
$52,373Median
$76,19475th
$103,87490th
$75,200This org · 74th
p10$12,824
p25$30,575
p50$52,373
p75$76,194
p90$103,874
$75,200

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 KY 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
The Resiliency Collaborative Inc NC$368,490 Executive Director Former $84,540 $78,974 2024
Sylvan Robotics OH$368,756 Executive Dir. $119 $114 2024
Aamva Region I Inc VA$367,811 Director, Regions I & Ii $15,357 $13,801 2023
The Growing Tree Learning Center VA$366,924 Administrator $49,885 $44,832 2023
The Caterpillar Lab NH$369,884 Executive Director $62,181 $51,908 2024
Farms To Grow Inc CA$366,693 Executive Dir. $35,500 $28,532 2023
National Center For Entrepreneurship And Innovation DC$370,000 President $28,421 $23,214 2023
The Hive Dgo CO$366,407 Executive Dir. $54,248 $47,028 2024
The Savannah Book Festival Inc GA$370,657 Executive Di $61,000 $57,089 2023
North Korea Human Rights Watch OH$365,913 Program Dire $80,000 $78,867 2023
If You Heard What I Heard Inc CA$371,217 Director/chair $8,332 $6,505 2024
W5yi Licensing Services Inc TX$365,305 President $29,015 $26,240 2024
Lily Creek Farms OH$365,276 Executive Director $42,000 $40,217 2024
Patient Safety Movement Foundation CA$365,177 Coo $210,873 $160,379 2025
Apereo Foundation Incorporated OR$364,789 Secretary, Executive Director $81,136 $68,120 2024
Summer On The Cuyahoga OH$364,717 Executive Di $70,350 $67,364 2024
22nd Judicial District Casa Inc OK$364,430 Exec Dir $66,285 $64,287 2025
Challenge Sonoma Adventure CA$372,717 Director $34,680 $27,074 2024
Rural Aspirations Project ME$363,803 Executive Director $83,428 $77,757 2023
Project Light Of Manatee Inc FL$373,007 Executive Director $83,700 $71,088 2024
Franklin Tomorrow Inc TN$373,443 Chief Executive Officer $87,779 $83,418 2024
Process Work Institute OR$373,574 Executive Di $76,550 $62,613 2025
Literacy Connections Hudson NY$363,025 Executive Di $75,002 $59,693 2025
Student-athletes Organized To Under DC$374,326 Director $86,400 $68,546 2024
Behawaiiorg HI$374,360 Executive Director (Aug - Dec) $60,953 $50,794 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to KY 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 KY 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 default74th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)65th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted77th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted68th

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 (Judith Clabes) 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 437 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $75,200 is reasonable (approximately the 74th 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.