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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Austin Area Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 582671449
MN · NTEE T31
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Stephen Barrett, Executive Director / CEO ($51,935) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 59 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 49th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Stephen Barrett — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIR.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

59 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 59 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$989 total compensation of comparable organizations → $263,596 $51,935
$13,09310th
$28,31125th
$52,130Median
$79,24675th
$108,42390th
$51,935This org · 49th
p10$13,093
p25$28,311
p50$52,130
p75$79,246
p90$108,423
$51,935

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 MN 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
Greater Polson Community Foundation Inc MT$465,365 Admin Assistant $43,594 $46,192 2024
Greater Cedarburg Foundation Inc WI$454,322 Assistant Secretary $57,748 $61,035 2023
Optima Giving Foundation GA$450,748 Trustee $46,456 $45,916 2024
Tri-county Community Foundation SC$470,574 Executive Director $12,000 $11,989 2025
Love Thy Neighbor Too GA$472,272 Treasurer/director $266,693 $263,596 2024
The Ben Hogan Foundation TX$438,538 Executive Director $123,101 $121,045 2024
Hero's Cup Hockey Inc MA$437,840 President (Through 10/2023) $13,333 $12,125 2023
Rio Grande Valley Philanthropic TX$437,822 Ceo $96,000 $94,397 2024
Mountain Gateway Community VA$433,611 Executive Director $28,212 $27,568 2023
Chicago Dental Society Foundation IL$433,562 Executive Di $148,185 $147,436 2023
Elkin Academic Enrichment NC$433,077 Executive Di $10,331 $10,494 2024
Turning Points For Children Charitable PA$432,889 Treasurer $11,487 $11,593 2023
The Edgar County Community IL$430,797 Dev Mgr $30,000 $28,992 2024
Elder Care Community For Home Care Service NY$490,540 Ceo $60,000 $53,296 2024
Community Health Alliance MT$428,500 Executive Dir. $50,084 $53,069 2024
Diana Gregory Outreach Services AZ$427,340 Ceo $55,142 $52,130 2024
Los Alamos Community Foundation NM$426,312 Former Exec $76,038 $80,392 2024
Columbia Gorge Community College OR$420,993 Executive Director (Thru 02/23) $78,963 $74,212 2023
Check 1002 Charitable Trust GA$418,995 Trustee $21,408 $21,160 2024
Mccamish Legacy Foundation GA$504,399 Trustee $47,559 $48,395 2023
Webster Arts MO$412,408 Executive Director $53,680 $55,889 2024
Jewish Community Foundation Of Greater Prescott AZ$412,204 Executive Director $30,000 $27,630 2025
Community Foundation Of Orange CA$409,995 Executive Dir. $75,363 $63,970 2024
Knoxville Hospital & Clinics Foundation IA$405,175 Foundation Director $12,034 $13,335 2023
Kauai North Shore Community HI$403,438 Executive Di $95,986 $84,475 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MN 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 MN 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 default49th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)53rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted61st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted31st

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 (Stephen Barrett) 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 59 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (T31), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $51,935 is reasonable (approximately the 49th 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.