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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Youth Popular Culture Institute Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 522136932
MD · NTEE B90
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of P Thandi Hick-harper, Executive Director / CEO ($91,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 383 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 82nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: P Thandi Hick-harper — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

383 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 383 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$11 total compensation of comparable organizations → $480,790 $91,000
$13,30810th
$29,53125th
$55,834Median
$80,39875th
$109,61390th
$91,000This org · 82nd
p10$13,308
p25$29,531
p50$55,834
p75$80,398
p90$109,613
$91,000

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
Best Skills Academy SC$247,838 Executive Di $29,975 $33,448 2024
Partners For A Better Education Inc NY$247,629 Executive Dir. $47,077 $45,502 2024
Charleston Main Streets Inc WV$248,225 Executive Director $79,250 $94,493 2023
National Council On Bible Curriculum In Public Schools NC$248,388 President $87,234 $96,412 2024
Kidspirit Inc NY$246,871 Executive Di $30,000 $29,853 2023
Northeast South Dakota Area Health SD$246,649 Center Direc $66,732 $78,776 2024
Beyond The Classroom Inc SD$249,145 President $18,000 $21,249 2024
Inspire Learning Academy CA$250,570 President $57,000 $52,647 2024
The Investors Academy Inc GA$245,033 Ceoexecutive Director $36,000 $38,718 2024
Endangered Languages Project OR$250,634 Executive Dir. $64,434 $62,353 2025
Tracy Chamber Of Commerce CA$244,979 Ceo $78,900 $75,026 2023
Project Deep Association Inc MA$244,681 Executive Di $65,000 $60,867 2025
Empowerment International CO$250,981 Executive Director $61,969 $65,435 2023
Housing Leadership Of Palm Beach County FL$244,400 President & Ceo $125,465 $126,071 2024
Once Upon Our Time Capsule IL$244,192 Co-founder Board Chair $53,335 $57,742 2023
The Simple Vue Academy Charter School Inc GA$244,023 Executive Director $38,749 $41,674 2024
High Country Home Educators CO$251,826 Secretary/assoc Executive Director $12,500 $13,199 2023
Impact Hub Msp MN$252,235 Executive Director $80,000 $84,553 2024
Wegoja Foundation SC$242,898 Executive Director $61,875 $69,045 2024
Give A Little OR$253,149 Admin Director $46,800 $46,487 2024
Ashtabula County Continued Education OH$242,364 Executive Director $55,643 $64,900 2023
Wattsnatural Tutoring RI$253,345 Executive Di $83,567 $85,710 2024
Joy Education Foundation OK$242,191 Executive Director $116,590 $137,320 2024
Coastal Interpretive Center WA$241,549 Executive Dir. $52,519 $51,780 2023
Hack Ny Inc NY$241,537 Director $17,500 $16,914 2024

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 default82nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)85th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted82nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted78th

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 (P Thandi Hick-harper) 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 383 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B90), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $91,000 is reasonable (approximately the 82nd 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.