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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Democracy 21 Education Fund

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 521956824
DC · NTEE W20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Fred Wertheimer, Executive Director / CEO ($61,849) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 17 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: Fred Wertheimer — reported title “PRESIDENT & CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

17 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 17 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$3,282 total compensation of comparable organizations → $222,512 $61,849
$23,41510th
$75,92125th
$107,549Median
$125,18175th
$163,05290th
$61,849This org · 24th
p10$23,415
p25$75,921
p50$107,549
p75$125,181
p90$163,052
$61,849

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 DC 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
Western States Strategies OR$208,010 Executive Director $15,176 $16,060 2024
Iowa Municipal Finance Officers Association IA$216,899 President $2,700 $3,282 2025
Hawaii Leeward Planning Conference HI$203,962 President $122,695 $125,181 2024
Common Sense Policy Institute VA$200,100 President $52,860 $58,162 2024
Juvenile Justice Advocates International MN$225,208 Executive Dir. $69,742 $78,531 2024
Louisiana Partnership For Children And Families LA$225,511 Executive Director $83,250 $107,549 2023
Renew America Together Inc AR$231,584 Executive Director $155,441 $199,108 2024
Science Literacy Project OH$232,504 Executive Director $184,356 $222,512 2024
The California Center For Civic CA$238,069 Executive Dir. $115,774 $113,923 2024
Citizens Union Of The City Of New York NY$165,587 Executive Dir. $27,500 $28,318 2024
New England First Amendment MA$163,291 Treasurer & $105,000 $107,523 2024
Allegheny League Of Municipalities PA$160,784 Executive Director $118,257 $138,358 2023
Guardianship Corp NY$261,698 President $135,000 $139,015 2024
Judicial Action Group AL$152,760 Chairman $76,500 $96,962 2023
Wisconsin County Forests Association Inc WI$273,826 Executive Director $99,918 $118,914 2024
Public Service Leadership Academy Inc VA$286,298 Key Employee $69,000 $75,921 2024
Visit Issaquah WA$302,029 Executive Director $116,700 $119,064 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to DC 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 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.

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)24th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted18th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted65th

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 (Fred Wertheimer) 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 17 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (W20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $61,849 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.