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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Midcoast Literacy

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 542127254
ME · NTEE B60
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Daniel Burson, Executive Director / CEO ($42,498) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 131 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 37th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Daniel Burson — reported title “Executive Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

131 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 131 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$259 total compensation of comparable organizations → $258,355 $42,498
$16,26410th
$31,16025th
$55,533Median
$75,91575th
$93,64790th
$42,498This org · 37th
p10$16,264
p25$31,160
p50$55,533
p75$75,915
p90$93,647
$42,498

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 ME 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
Gull Island Institute Inc MA$237,443 Clerk $41,600 $37,332 2024
Collaborative Law Institute Of Texas TX$237,143 Exec Director $76,546 $78,726 2023
National Coalition For Dialogue & Deliberation PA$236,025 Executive Director $16,800 $17,225 2023
Iowa City Unesco City Of Literature IA$244,011 Executive Director $108,323 $118,448 2024
Literacy Chippewa Valley WI$244,707 Executive Di $47,017 $47,773 2025
Harleys Dream CO$245,039 Executive Dir. $52,000 $49,795 2024
Kenosha Literacy Council WI$234,765 Executive Dir. $54,654 $55,533 2025
Second Chance Education Inc CA$245,689 Ceo $59,509 $52,833 2023
Florida Preborn Rescue Inc FL$245,779 Director $124,492 $116,794 2024
Literacy Volunteers Of Broome-tioga NY$233,980 Executive Director $49,448 $43,472 2025
Hey Neighbor CO$246,939 Executive Director $39,875 $38,184 2024
Growing Oaks Association OK$232,819 Secretarytreasurer $73,000 $80,275 2024
Peak Research Institute CO$247,400 Treasurer $30,360 $29,073 2024
Onelife For Life Inc MI$247,631 President $61,644 $65,419 2023
Anewvista Community Services CA$248,249 President $51,200 $43,014 2025
Minnesota Teachers Of English To Speakers Of Other Languages MN$231,475 Executive Assistant $15,450 $15,246 2024
Marion County Literacy Council Inc FL$249,959 Director $66,096 $60,410 2025
Skyline Agility Club Inc NY$229,644 Former President $8,750 $7,896 2024
Association For Machine Learning And Applications CA$251,017 Secretary $60,000 $51,741 2024
Destiny Builders Inc OK$228,764 President $87,000 $95,670 2024
Ethos Literacy NM$227,120 Executive Director $63,000 $67,669 2024
Run Hard Rest Well Inc IN$253,340 Executive Dir. $60,000 $65,055 2023
Leadership Kauai HI$226,010 Executive Dir. $70,000 $64,436 2023
National Hbcu Business Deans Roundtable Inc NC$225,337 Managing Director $36,000 $38,245 2023
New York State Care Management NY$225,135 Executive Director $68,250 $61,590 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to ME 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 ME 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 default37th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)36th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted41st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted30th

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 (Daniel Burson) 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 131 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $42,498 is reasonable (approximately the 37th 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.