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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Just Foreign Policy

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 562587092
DC · NTEE Q20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Erik Sperling, Executive Director / CEO ($94,167) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 32 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 50th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Erik Sperling — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

32 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 32 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$741 total compensation of comparable organizations → $249,917 $94,167
$28,96410th
$44,21225th
$94,645Median
$120,05475th
$132,22090th
$94,167This org · 50th
p10$28,964
p25$44,212
p50$94,645
p75$120,054
p90$132,220
$94,167

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
The Japan America Society Of Kentucky KY$391,431 Executive Director $81,565 $99,861 2023
Civil Society Institute Inc MA$413,467 President & Exec. Director $251,262 $249,917 2024
Arbol De Vida TX$376,552 President $42,000 $45,304 2025
American Mandarin Society VA$421,218 Executive Di $84,000 $92,425 2023
Japan America Society Of So California CA$428,314 Executive Director $19,681 $19,366 2023
Unidosnow Inc FL$430,469 Executive Director $124,062 $129,002 2024
Educators Institute For Human Rights In DC$434,112 Executive Director $175,487 $170,452 2024
Global Philadelphia Associaton Inc PA$349,036 President $110,000 $125,005 2023
The Tamarindo Foundation Inc IN$346,182 Executive Director $120,753 $140,950 2024
Immigrant Solidarity Dupage IL$458,275 President $82,954 $90,269 2024
Love Must Act Inc KY$335,584 President $25,500 $30,324 2024
Identity Mission NC$326,517 President $24,470 $28,813 2023
Japan America Society Of Colorado CO$326,000 Executive Director $91,264 $96,864 2024
Japan-american Society OH$325,902 Executive Di $30,227 $34,523 2025
Cair Michigan Inc MI$470,606 Executive Officer $89,539 $102,296 2024
The Fountain For The Natural OR$322,044 President $700 $741 2023
Send A Cow Inc VA$484,115 Executive Director $90,976 $100,101 2023
Japan America Society Of Oregon OR$490,048 Executive Director $103,108 $105,985 2024
Interfaith Peace Builders DC$293,845 Managing Director (Thru 11/22) $78,218 $78,218 2023
Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council Inc FL$291,084 Executive Director $70,965 $73,791 2024
Idti Inc FL$284,476 International Consultant $127,500 $132,577 2024
Tulsa Global Alliance OK$283,856 Executive Director $36,755 $44,798 2024
Japan-america Society Of TX$513,657 Pres - Part Yr $101,479 $112,359 2024
Macgillivray Freeman Films Educational CA$275,528 Co-executive Director $16,500 $15,771 2024
Facts And Logic About The CA$541,460 President $86,845 $85,457 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to DC cost of living and 2023 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 default50th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)66th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted50th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted47th

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 (Erik Sperling) 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 32 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (Q20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $94,167 is reasonable (approximately the 50th 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.