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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Pillar Seminary

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 465088319
NE · NTEE B50
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dan Lowery, Executive Director / CEO ($36,320) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 21 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 24th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Dan Lowery — reported title “President”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

21 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 21 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$20,633 total compensation of comparable organizations → $462,513 $36,320
$22,54810th
$46,44025th
$80,226Median
$111,07375th
$174,43290th
$36,320This org · 24th
p10$22,548
p25$46,440
p50$80,226
p75$111,073
p90$174,432
$36,320

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 NE 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
Slavic Reformation Society TX$461,512 Director $95,500 $93,862 2023
Christ Our Redeemer Seminary Inc AL$459,218 President $57,023 $60,529 2023
Wildlife Science Center MN$462,983 Executive Director $60,000 $58,252 2023
Academy For The Love Of NM$464,201 Mngr, & Gen. $189,240 $199,985 2023
Bridges Graduate School Of Cognitive Diversity In Education CA$454,095 Coo $24,319 $20,633 2023
Nwa Industries For Education AR$453,082 Executive Director $57,664 $63,685 2023
California University - Silicon Valley CA$484,875 President $43,950 $36,219 2024
Maitripa College OR$421,618 President $83,004 $75,737 2023
America Chinese Evangelical Seminary CA$420,606 Accounting Officer $33,476 $27,587 2024
Heidelberg Theological Seminary SD$417,954 President $93,500 $101,389 2023
Irbs Theological Seminary TX$528,022 President $116,350 $111,073 2024
Cincinnati Psychoanalytic Institute OH$387,260 Director $79,368 $80,226 2024
Toyota Technological Institute At Chicago IL$385,536 President $478,816 $462,513 2023
Graduate Business Curriculum MN$353,980 Executive Di $135,150 $131,211 2023
Torah Temimah Jerusalem MD$570,194 President An $52,050 $46,440 2024
South Central Wisconsin Area Health WI$337,992 Executive Dir. $96,841 $94,033 2025
The Master's Institute MN$587,576 757 Martin Ave, Hudson, Wi 54016 $24,000 $22,049 2025
Leadership Institute Of Seattle WA$324,094 President $114,574 $100,788 2023
Redemption Seminary Inc AZ$606,733 President $184,597 $174,432 2023
Copassion Inc FL$312,550 President $25,816 $22,548 2025
The Nalp Foundation For Law Career Research And Education MA$644,700 President & Ceo $191,143 $163,923 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NE cost of living and 2025 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 NE 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 default24th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)19th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted29th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted19th

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 (Dan Lowery) 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 21 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B50), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $36,320 is reasonable (approximately the 24th 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.