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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Creative Lives Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 471544227
VT · NTEE B90
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Maureen Burford, Executive Director / CEO ($74,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 366 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: Maureen Burford — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

366 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 366 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$10 total compensation of comparable organizations → $292,946 $74,000
$11,94310th
$26,18825th
$50,296Median
$74,44775th
$100,83690th
$74,000This org · 74th
p10$11,943
p25$26,188
p50$50,296
p75$74,447
p90$100,836
$74,000

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 VT 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
Acton Academy Dc Foundation DC$235,484 Executive Dir. $77,250 $69,339 2023
Cultural Diversity Foundation Inc NV$235,353 President $3,010 $2,998 2024
Puerto Rico Alliance For Companion Animals Inc PR$237,207 Treasurer $3,600 $3,600 2024
Borromeo Project Inc NH$235,164 Executive Director $131,521 $124,219 2023
Law Schoolyes We Can CO$235,137 Executive Director $104,000 $102,004 2023
Alamo Area Christian Educators Inc TX$235,116 President/di $49,950 $49,642 2024
Forever R Children OH$237,961 Executive Di $4,000 $4,209 2024
Empower Humanity Inc ID$234,407 Board Member $25,669 $27,129 2024
Witkids Inc TN$239,012 President $86,885 $90,736 2024
Peacemakers Inc CA$239,222 Founding Director $13,000 $11,482 2023
Students With A Goal OH$232,969 Executive Director $48,654 $52,710 2023
Shermont Manor MT$239,735 Ceo $19,661 $21,056 2024
Cleveland Municipal School District OH$239,927 Director $138,367 $145,602 2024
Tyler Junior Golf Foundation TX$232,209 Executive Dir. $60,600 $60,226 2024
Yamei Academy Of Excellence CA$232,111 Ceo And Director $36,000 $30,885 2024
Dream It Do It Western New York Inc NY$232,010 President $58,263 $52,307 2024
Mastermindz Afterschool Enrichment Program PA$231,851 President $18,602 $18,430 2024
Wings For Learning TX$240,694 Executive Di $54,000 $53,667 2024
Academy31 Inc NC$240,918 President $25,440 $26,116 2024
Empowered Tutoring Inc WI$231,317 President $45,321 $45,813 2025
Potential Endeavors MN$241,289 President And Treasurer $15,000 $14,726 2024
Hack Ny Inc NY$241,537 Director $17,500 $15,711 2024
Coastal Interpretive Center WA$241,549 Executive Dir. $52,519 $48,095 2023
Global Youth Leadership Center CA$230,262 Founder $125,000 $107,238 2024
Joy Education Foundation OK$242,191 Executive Director $116,590 $127,549 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VT 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 VT 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)74th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted75th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted69th

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 (Maureen Burford) 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 366 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B90), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $74,000 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.