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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Smart Lu 555

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 621569745
TN · NTEE J40
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Paul Platt, Executive Director / CEO ($654) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 179 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 4th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

179 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 179 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$16 total compensation of comparable organizations → $260,620 $654
$2,28110th
$5,42925th
$12,031Median
$47,16075th
$84,18990th
$654This org · 4th
p10$2,281
p25$5,429
p50$12,031
p75$47,160
p90$84,189
$654

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 TN 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
Police Assoc Inc - Town Of Greenburgh NY$286,210 President $9,500 $8,167 2023
Orange County Boces Teachers' NY$286,094 President $5,000 $4,298 2023
Fuerza Unida TX$285,708 Head Seamtress $17 $16 2023
Iupat District Council No 21 Labor PA$285,672 Union Co-chair Trustee $140,400 $129,379 2024
Springfield Police Benevolent & IL$285,354 President $6,982 $6,530 2023
Association Of Commuter Rail Employees CT$285,195 President $759 $677 2023
Utah Education Association UT$289,848 Director $45,024 $41,484 2025
International Brotherhood MA$282,808 President $13,031 $10,542 2025
International Assoc Of Sheet Metal Air Rail & Transportation PA$292,291 President $3,921 $3,614 2024
American Board Of Medicolegal Death Inve MD$293,764 Executive Director $10,000 $8,639 2024
Million Dollar Teacher Project AZ$296,679 Founder And Ceo $72,025 $62,357 2025
Cleveland Professional Firefighters TN$277,569 President $2,600 $2,525 2024
Local 490 Labor-management NH$277,242 Trustee $21,457 $18,308 2024
Carpenters Local Union No 136 OH$297,889 President $4,002 $3,917 2024
I B E W Local 305 Inc IN$299,080 Director $47,975 $46,751 2024
Northeast Wisconsin Building And WI$274,339 Bus Represen $136,690 $135,809 2023
Pickett-donnelly Lodge No 77 Brotherhood Of Railroad Signalmen VA$274,214 President $1,801 $1,607 2024
Communications Workers Of America Local 3406 LA$300,766 President $32,587 $33,158 2024
Amherst-pelham Education Association MA$301,406 President $2,750 $2,283 2024
Afge Nbpc 2554 CA$301,527 President $23,791 $18,983 2024
United Steelworkers Local Union 00420 NY$272,738 President $68,474 $57,175 2024
Int'l Union Of District 55 Allied & NJ$303,159 President $85,000 $68,320 2025
American Federation Of Teachers NY$305,097 President $21,068 $17,138 2025
American Maritime Officers Master Operating FL$307,077 Executive Director $6,120 $5,312 2024
Sharon Teachers Association Incorporated MA$307,810 Pr And R Chair $2,500 $2,137 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TN 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 TN 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 default4th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)3rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted12th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted4th

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 (Paul Platt) 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 179 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (J40), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $654 is reasonable (approximately the 4th 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.