Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sharleen Smith, Executive Director / CEO ($27,461) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 306 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: Sharleen Smith — reported title “BOARD”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.
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 DC cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.
| Organization | State | Revenue | Matched title | Comp (reported) | Comp (adjusted) | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama Afl-cio Labor Institute For | AL | $214,965 | President | $40,744 | $48,721 | 2024 |
| You Decide Kentucky Inc | KY | $215,128 | Executive Director | $73,846 | $90,410 | 2023 |
| Core Skills Institute | KS | $215,394 | Ceo | $66,062 | $78,997 | 2024 |
| Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry Of New Jersey Inc | NJ | $216,140 | Executive Director | $70,000 | $69,178 | 2024 |
| Coalition For Physician Well-being Inc | FL | $216,395 | Executive Director | $37,496 | $40,141 | 2023 |
| The Learning Center Of Key West Inc | FL | $211,729 | Ceo | $60,000 | $64,232 | 2023 |
| Carefirst Community Health Services | MI | $211,704 | Chief Executive Officer | $78,928 | $96,643 | 2022 |
| Earth & Space Expedition Center | AZ | $216,532 | Executive Dir. | $55,000 | $58,548 | 2024 |
| Groundworks New Mexico | NM | $211,520 | Executive Di | $115,786 | $141,915 | 2023 |
| Wind & Oar Boat School | OR | $216,987 | Executive Dir. | $42,439 | $43,623 | 2024 |
| Central Pennsylvania July 4th Inc | PA | $211,052 | Executive Director | $39,000 | $43,048 | 2024 |
| Seniors On A Mission Inc | FL | $217,177 | Executive Director | $79,159 | $82,311 | 2024 |
| Wholly Informed Sex Ed | TX | $217,462 | Executive Director | $75,018 | $83,061 | 2024 |
| Firm Foundation Early Learning Academy | GA | $217,969 | School Director | $15,950 | $17,751 | 2024 |
| Peace Action Fund Of New York | NY | $218,425 | Executive Director | $79,486 | $79,502 | 2024 |
| Corsicana Artist And Writer | TX | $218,446 | Executive Di | $33,800 | $38,529 | 2023 |
| Literacy New York-fulton Montgomery And Schoharie Counties Inc | NY | $218,644 | Executive Director | $50,000 | $48,721 | 2025 |
| Whittier Friends School | CA | $209,474 | Financial Manager | $16,926 | $16,177 | 2024 |
| Human Systems Dynamics Institute | MN | $219,090 | Executive Di | $71,250 | $80,229 | 2023 |
| Ascension 33 Inc | FL | $208,942 | Director | $53,480 | $55,610 | 2024 |
| Off-grid Retreats | CA | $208,253 | Executive Director | $28,646 | $27,379 | 2024 |
| Impact Players | WA | $208,109 | Executive | $237,818 | $242,636 | 2023 |
| Wisconsin Pharmacy Foundation Inc | WI | $207,784 | Secretary-treasurer | $35,620 | $41,176 | 2024 |
| Millennium Research Inc | TX | $207,758 | President | $16,474 | $18,240 | 2024 |
| Core Essentials Inc | GA | $207,677 | Founder And Ceo | $143,106 | $163,973 | 2023 |
Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to DC cost of living and 2023 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.
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 DC 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.
Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:
| Basis | Subject percentile |
|---|---|
| Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default | 24th |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 25th |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 29th |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 22nd |
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.
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
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.