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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Experimental Chinese School

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 541588292
VA · NTEE A230
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Yisan Lee, Executive Director / CEO ($2,750) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 124 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 2nd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Yisan Lee — reported title “ACADEMICS”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

124 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 124 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,553 total compensation of comparable organizations → $180,293 $2,750
$5,76510th
$15,52925th
$39,594Median
$65,37675th
$84,75690th
$2,750This org · 2nd
p10$5,765
p25$15,529
p50$39,594
p75$65,376
p90$84,756
$2,750

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
Hispanic Education Inc FL$230,270 President $39,000 $38,949 2024
Hispanic Womens Organization Of Arkansas AR$227,728 Exec Director $55,000 $67,665 2023
The Royal Ethiopian Trust Inc CT$227,607 Chairman Of $16,000 $15,948 2024
Burma Research Institute MD$227,379 Executive Director $49,218 $48,917 2024
Niagara Celtic Heritage Society Inc NY$224,921 Festival Dir $5,700 $5,476 2024
Center For Cultural Vibrancy VA$223,629 Executive Di $110,586 $113,512 2024
Just Communities Of Arkansas Inc AR$222,844 Ceo $101,319 $121,073 2024
United Chinese Learning Center CA$221,680 Principal $51,480 $47,257 2024
Contra Costa Chinese School CA$221,311 President $25,000 $22,949 2024
Kooyrigs Inc MI$220,726 Executive Director $22,540 $25,464 2023
Swedish Women's Educational Association International Inc FL$242,316 Chief Administrative Officer $72,960 $75,016 2023
Creative China Center Inc NY$220,119 President $12,000 $11,528 2024
Hispanic Women Of Springfield IL$219,920 Vice-president $33,930 $35,462 2024
Seattle Out And Proud Inc WA$219,787 Executive Director $145,525 $138,509 2024
Chinese Center On Long Island Inc NY$219,451 Director $6,532 $6,275 2024
Aloha Kuamo'o' Aina HI$219,335 Admin Assistant $37,958 $37,195 2023
The Avenue Blackbox Inc NY$218,958 Ceo $64,267 $63,561 2023
African American Cultural Center NY$244,009 President $6,000 $5,934 2023
American Arab Heritage Council MI$244,639 Executive Director $54,231 $61,265 2023
Three Aksha PA$217,443 Artistic Director $60,000 $63,609 2024
Ri Slave History Medallions RI$245,607 Executive Director $51,756 $52,758 2024
Sicc Inc NY$216,722 Executive Director $43,500 $41,788 2024
Italingua Institute CA$246,445 President $78,452 $74,144 2023
Menddigap Inc NY$247,501 President & Director $5,230 $5,173 2023
Russian Educational Center OH$215,205 Member, Board Of Directors $27,000 $31,299 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VA cost of living and 2025 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 default2nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)2nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted3rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted2nd

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 (Yisan Lee) 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 124 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A23), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $2,750 is reasonable (approximately the 2nd 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.