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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Foothills Forum

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 521071448
VA · NTEE A30
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Emily A Oaks, Executive Director / CEO ($51,875) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 65 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 37th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Emily A Oaks — reported title “Executive Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

65 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 65 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$4,679 total compensation of comparable organizations → $301,661 $51,875
$24,81110th
$42,70325th
$62,629Median
$88,29375th
$118,74190th
$51,875This org · 37th
p10$24,811
p25$42,703
p50$62,629
p75$88,293
p90$118,741
$51,875

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 VA 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 Ithaca Voice Inc NY$323,167 Executive Director $60,000 $56,152 2024
The Jolt News Organization WA$319,113 Executive Director $59,891 $55,534 2024
Northeast Florida Journalism Collective Inc FL$317,553 Editor $120,450 $120,653 2023
Explorer's Bible Study Association TN$317,344 Executive Di $84,677 $92,184 2024
Plaza Media Arts Center Inc NY$326,304 Executive Dir. $100,769 $94,307 2024
Microbetv Inc NY$312,135 President $72,000 $67,383 2024
Red Media Inc NM$332,453 Program Director $44,150 $50,633 2023
Northeast Access Committee VT$310,435 Director $43,373 $46,549 2023
Southwest Washington Lulac Foundation WA$308,504 Executive Director $95,220 $88,293 2024
Arizona Center For Investigative Reporting AZ$307,633 Executive Director And Editor $75,000 $76,910 2023
Rattapallax Inc NY$307,210 President $43,000 $40,243 2024
Rightside Holdings Inc AL$306,646 President $108,750 $125,273 2023
Massachusetts Media Fund Inc MA$306,429 Director $42,800 $39,833 2024
Action Youth Media Incorporated MD$304,953 Executive Director $83,540 $83,279 2023
Lion Speaks OR$304,834 Executive Director $71,700 $68,961 2024
Unicorn Riot MN$303,413 Board Chair $79,712 $81,575 2024
Granite State News Collaborative NH$302,569 Executive Director $40,831 $39,047 2024
Center For Broadcast Journalism MN$341,423 Executive Director $24,000 $25,287 2023
The Record Community News Group IL$298,634 Treasurer $86,961 $88,544 2024
Cicero Independiente Nfp IL$292,904 President $60,000 $62,896 2023
5 Stone Media MN$291,829 Executive Dir. $84,932 $86,917 2024
Kiowa County Ks Media Center KS$288,920 Creative Director $52,134 $58,332 2024
Kenya Diaspora Media AL$357,374 Ceo $80,000 $92,155 2023
Just Facts Inc TX$282,819 President $133,322 $138,123 2024
Feet In 2 Worlds Inc NY$281,470 President $38,640 $36,162 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VA 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 VA 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 default37th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)35th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted42nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted37th

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 (Emily A Oaks) 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 65 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $51,875 is reasonable (approximately the 37th 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.