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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Foundation For Critical Thinking

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 680225053
CA · NTEE A99Z
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Linda Elder Paul, Executive Director / CEO ($1,299) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 47 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 6th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Linda Elder Paul — reported title “PRESIDENT & CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

47 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 47 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$738 total compensation of comparable organizations → $87,489 $1,299
$3,16510th
$17,29525th
$47,560Median
$60,03775th
$70,53990th
$1,299This org · 6th
p10$3,165
p25$17,295
p50$47,560
p75$60,037
p90$70,539
$1,299

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 CA 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
Arts Center At Killingworth Inc CT$163,927 Board Member / Trustee $7,852 $8,526 2024
Black Artistsdesigners Guildinc NY$161,061 Exeucitive Director $52,000 $54,416 2024
Arthaus Inc IA$165,898 Director $38,499 $47,560 2025
The Warehouse Inc WI$158,144 Executive Di $32,400 $40,344 2023
Elios Charitable Foundation CA$155,069 Executive Dir. $58,750 $60,485 2023
Intersectional Arts Inc CA$153,831 President $3,375 $3,375 2024
Praising Earth Inc NM$152,879 President $25,200 $31,388 2024
Columbus Cultural Heritage Foundation MS$175,512 Ceo $5,115 $6,597 2024
Cleveland Art Association OH$150,890 Director/secretary $3,705 $4,544 2024
South Haven Art Association MI$179,004 Executive Di $43,125 $51,549 2024
Dorland Mountain Arts Colony CA$139,902 Executive Dir. $18,517 $18,517 2024
Remember The Triangle Fire Coalition NY$192,817 Treasurer/project Financia $58,000 $60,695 2024
Bridge Street Theatre Inc NY$194,702 Artistic And Managing Director $10,000 $10,773 2023
Suzuki Collaborative Of Cps OH$131,697 Executive Dir. $41,141 $49,163 2025
Dimensions Variable (Dv) FL$198,940 Co-founder & Chair $21,754 $23,667 2024
Glendale Arts CA$199,034 Ceo $89,804 $87,489 2025
Jamaica Plain Arts And Civic Center MA$127,606 Executive Director $709 $738 2024
American Topical Association SC$199,682 Executive Di $54,123 $65,389 2024
Sensory Theatre Endless Possibilities Inc VA$201,474 Executive Director/slp $32,293 $37,176 2023
The House Of Afros Capes & Curls Inc NE$202,047 Executive Dir. $60,000 $76,942 2023
Intersectioninc NY$203,596 President $60,167 $62,963 2024
Gordon Education Initiatives For TX$123,161 Executive Di $30,170 $34,950 2024
Mauliola Keehi HI$203,654 Executive Director $62,083 $66,271 2023
Smith-lemli-opitz Foundation ND$205,034 President $20,800 $27,215 2023
Alianta Inc DC$121,565 Chair $2,725 $2,851 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA 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 CA 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 default6th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)6th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted9th
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 (Linda Elder Paul) 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 47 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $1,299 is reasonable (approximately the 6th 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.