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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Louisville Story Program

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 475237414
KY · NTEE A33
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Darcy Thompson, Executive Director / CEO ($69,960) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 57 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 51st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Darcy Thompson — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

57 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 57 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,410 total compensation of comparable organizations → $172,835 $69,960
$18,58110th
$37,66225th
$67,748Median
$89,98675th
$116,09290th
$69,960This org · 51st
p10$18,581
p25$37,662
p50$67,748
p75$89,986
p90$116,092
$69,960

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
Cavankerry Press Ltd NJ$343,702 Executive Director $46,518 $37,662 2025
Providence Foundation VA$332,489 President $92,500 $83,131 2024
The Catholic Peace Times Weekly Inc NY$364,450 President $13,850 $11,649 2024
Public Multimedia Inc NJ$326,796 President $112,615 $93,587 2024
The Food Alliance OR$326,179 Past Exec. Dir. $78,378 $67,748 2024
Mars Hill Audio Inc VA$323,706 President $129,079 $116,004 2024
Preserving Christian Publications NY$370,593 President $24,079 $20,252 2024
Nightboat Books Inc NY$320,727 Executive Director $30,841 $26,706 2023
In Black Ink MN$319,183 Executive Director $37,606 $35,609 2023
County Economic Research Institute Inc KS$317,331 President $171,880 $172,835 2024
Capital Region Community Media Inc VT$311,307 Editor In Chief $60,584 $56,758 2024
Abba A Womens Resource Center ME$311,069 Executive Director $66,576 $63,883 2023
Skeptic Society CA$309,510 President $143,323 $118,595 2023
Southern California Streets Initiative CA$383,198 Director $75,341 $62,342 2023
Carlisle Communications Inc MA$308,493 President $1,731 $1,410 2025
Arcata Press MN$305,326 Executive Director $84,000 $77,256 2024
The562 Network Inc CA$302,316 Founder Editor $68,992 $57,089 2023
Authors Alliance Inc CA$394,839 Executive Dir. $153,713 $127,193 2023
The Io Foundation WI$296,207 Secretary/ed $90,687 $85,882 2025
Spectator Publishing Company Inc NY$296,078 Editor In Chief $4,250 $3,575 2024
Ashland News OR$295,181 Executive Editor $54,600 $48,589 2023
Plymouth Rock Publishing Corp MA$399,994 Director $37,000 $31,862 2023
Dignity Usa Inc MA$288,091 Executive Di $112,921 $94,449 2024
Bellevue Literary Review Inc NY$284,941 Executive Dir. $39,600 $33,307 2024
Four Way Books Inc NY$410,023 Publisher And Executive Editor $83,687 $72,466 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 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 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 default51st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)47th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted60th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted51st

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 (Darcy Thompson) 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 57 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A33), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $69,960 is reasonable (approximately the 51st 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.