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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Institute For Southern Studies Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 581090440
NC · NTEE V30Z
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Christopher Kromm, Executive Director / CEO ($146,471) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 12 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 100th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

12 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 12 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$12,068 total compensation of comparable organizations → $93,411 $146,471
$17,70710th
$27,15725th
$50,084Median
$65,73075th
$84,70890th
$146,471This org · 100th
p10$17,707
p25$27,157
p50$50,084
p75$65,730
p90$84,708
$146,471

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 NC 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
St Francis Springs Columbarium And Memorial Garden Inc NC$112,560 Executive Director $89,904 $85,074 2025
Police Data Accessibility Project Inc PA$104,978 Executive Director $60,000 $56,247 2024
Society For The Advancement Of MI$104,951 Secretary-tr $12,081 $12,068 2023
Foundation Of The Energy Law Journal DC$122,322 Chief Executive Officer $20,492 $16,904 2024
State Tax Research Institute DC$96,500 Director/president $71,239 $60,502 2023
The Beautywell Project MN$131,188 Executive Director $85,134 $81,414 2023
Minnesota Gerontological Society MN$93,441 Co-exec Dire $36,742 $35,136 2023
Institute For Diversity And Civic Life TX$88,898 Executive Director $26,517 $24,935 2024
Functional Behavior Interventions VA$137,082 Executive Di $63,086 $58,951 2023
Institute For Patent Studies Inc NY$148,207 President $109,967 $93,411 2024
Upaya Organization For CO$155,927 Director/pre $30,950 $27,898 2024
American Federation Of Astrologers Inc AZ$163,230 Executive Secretary $48,582 $43,921 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NC 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 NC 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 default100th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)100th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted100th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted75th

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 (Christopher Kromm) 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 12 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (V), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $146,471 is reasonable (approximately the 100th 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.