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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Beacon Institute Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 521990733
MD · NTEE B82
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 10, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Kevin Heffner, Executive Director / CEO ($9,788) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 146 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 4th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Kevin Heffner — reported title “PRESIDENT/EX-OFFICIO”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

146 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 146 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$3,604 total compensation of comparable organizations → $335,812 $9,788
$18,89810th
$46,11125th
$88,676Median
$124,16275th
$172,15690th
$9,788This org · 4th
p10$18,898
p25$46,111
p50$88,676
p75$124,162
p90$172,156
$9,788

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 MD 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
Grassroots Collaborative IL$1,127,428 Executive Director $112,876 $118,697 2024
Texas Medical Association Special Funds TX$1,126,762 Ceo $47,544 $50,870 2024
Stock Farm Greater Ravalli Foundation MT$1,132,325 Executive Dir. $85,000 $98,004 2024
Student Free Press Association MI$1,120,152 Executive Director $65,000 $71,762 2024
Path To College Foundation FL$1,138,077 Executive Director $116,543 $120,565 2023
🔒 141 more comparable organizations — included in the purchased report

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MD 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 MD 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 default4th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)3rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted87th

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:

Ready-to-adopt board minutes — executive compensation

🔒 The complete minutes language — three numbered resolutions pre-filled with this organization, the 146-organization comparison, the date, and the percentile finding, ready to paste into your minutes — is included in the purchased report.

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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 10, 2026.