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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Democracy Unlimited

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 680394751
CA · NTEE B99
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Michelle Williams, Executive Director / CEO ($39,323) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 42 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 62nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Michelle Williams — reported title “DIRECTOR/INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

42 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 42 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,424 total compensation of comparable organizations → $109,345 $39,323
$3,48210th
$11,06925th
$19,152Median
$54,64475th
$80,70290th
$39,323This org · 62nd
p10$3,482
p25$11,069
p50$19,152
p75$54,644
p90$80,702
$39,323

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
Minnesota News Media Institute Inc MN$71,376 Executive Director $12,816 $14,244 2024
Center For American Indian Research & SD$69,050 President $13,800 $17,132 2024
Cohort Sistas Inc DE$72,436 Executive Director $10,000 $10,730 2025
The Minority Scholars Program MD$72,635 President $3,628 $3,815 2024
Acnpe NY$72,695 Executive Director $55,000 $55,904 2024
Kindred Spirits Canine Educationcenter CA$73,648 Executive Director $62,400 $62,400 2023
Maryland School For Jewish Education MD$65,942 President & Secretary $1,390 $1,424 2025
The Westbrook Education Foundation MN$63,748 Director $2,390 $2,656 2024
Shine Your Light CA$63,350 President/ceo $14,317 $13,906 2024
Neohumanist College Of Asheville NC$78,689 President $52,500 $61,019 2024
Milk And Honey Outreach Ministries Inc FL$61,407 Director $42,600 $46,346 2023
Albany Fund For Education Inc NY$60,712 Executive Director $32,340 $33,843 2023
Mayor's Scholarship Fund Inc ID$60,237 Executive Di $12,032 $14,027 2025
Homeschoolers United In The Big Bend Incorporated FL$81,053 President & Treasurer $15,061 $15,915 2024
California Psychology Internship Council CA$82,024 Executive Director $53,750 $53,750 2023
Agc Oregon Columbia Chapter Foundation OR$58,668 Executive Dir. $21,018 $21,955 2024
Lavaca Historical Museum TX$83,283 Treasurer $6,133 $6,722 2025
Peace Tax Foundation Inc DC$57,245 Executie Director $17,610 $17,896 2023
Empowerment Media Inc FL$85,286 Ceo $21,996 $23,243 2024
Secular Communities For Arizona Inc AZ$87,047 Executive Director $70,833 $76,627 2024
Citizens For Road Safety Texas TX$53,170 President $7,500 $8,439 2024
The College Of Exploration VA$87,643 President $8,043 $8,993 2023
Gonzaga University Telecommunications Association WA$88,421 President $52,736 $51,741 2025
Kauffman Fasttrac Inc MO$52,110 Board Member/treasurer $76,422 $91,048 2024
Continuing Medical Education Institute MN$89,386 President/director $1,500 $1,716 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 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 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 default62nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)64th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted76th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted55th

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 (Michelle Williams) 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 42 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $39,323 is reasonable (approximately the 62nd 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.