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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Joseph And Evelyn Lowery Institute

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 582642316
GA · NTEE Q70
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Cheryl Lowery, Executive Director / CEO ($85,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 34 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: Cheryl Lowery — reported title “CEO/PRESIDEN”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

34 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 34 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$7,188 total compensation of comparable organizations → $154,331 $85,000
$19,39110th
$36,95225th
$57,904Median
$74,43175th
$94,53390th
$85,000This org · 82nd
p10$19,391
p25$36,952
p50$57,904
p75$74,431
p90$94,533
$85,000

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 GA 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
Operation Broken Silence TN$413,074 Executive Dir. $50,000 $52,270 2024
Womens Voices Now Inc CA$400,966 Executive Dir. $68,354 $58,702 2024
Peace And Hope International NC$397,264 Coo $25,000 $25,691 2024
Ensaaf CA$425,623 Co-director / Secretary Of Board $20,337 $17,465 2024
Women's Rights Without Frontiers MD$386,272 President $165,982 $154,331 2024
Holocaust And Human Rights Center ME$436,243 Executive Director $91,380 $91,004 2024
Eg Justice DC$379,194 Executive Dir. $93,500 $84,012 2023
Siamak Pourzand Foundation MD$374,715 Executive Director $80,556 $74,902 2024
Hostage Families Alliance DC$358,534 President $28,334 $24,728 2024
Nazdeek Inc NY$468,934 Sec./co-founder $10,000 $8,987 2024
Hope Outreach International FL$345,598 Executive Director $38,400 $36,937 2023
Accessibility Accelerator Inc NY$344,297 Executive Director $64,642 $58,094 2024
Dark Bali CA$342,650 Executive Dir. $64,618 $55,493 2024
Foundation For Freedom WA$339,971 President $72,000 $64,110 2024
Friends Peace Teams Inc MO$482,488 Office Manager-bookkeeper $18,833 $19,838 2024
Alight Alliance To Lead Impact In Global CO$333,478 Executive Director $118,421 $112,932 2024
If Americans Knew CA$331,563 President $71,108 $62,870 2023
Hero Women Rising Inc NM$500,043 Executive Director $45,684 $48,868 2024
International Tibet Network CA$307,132 Executive Director $48,336 $42,737 2023
The 88 Project IL$305,757 Executive Dir $95,413 $96,046 2023
Rescue Pink Inc TX$302,677 President $66,000 $67,599 2023
The Dui Hua Foundation CA$521,518 Executive Director/ Chairman $140,416 $124,150 2023
Friends Of The Congo DC$291,634 Executive Director $8,000 $7,188 2023
Project On Organizing Development NY$532,084 Co-executive $51,996 $46,729 2024
Global Echo Litigation Center Inc DE$534,089 Executive Director $74,854 $72,894 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to GA 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 GA 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)76th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted88th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted82nd

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 (Cheryl Lowery) 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 34 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (Q70), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $85,000 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.