Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Arawaka Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 680493107
NM · NTEE A23
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Marilyn Baeza-ponce, Executive Director / CEO ($47,700) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 159 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 56th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Marilyn Baeza-ponce — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

159 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 159 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,319 total compensation of comparable organizations → $153,156 $47,700
$7,92610th
$20,54425th
$41,271Median
$60,70975th
$83,32690th
$47,700This org · 56th
p10$7,926
p25$20,544
p50$41,271
p75$60,709
p90$83,326
$47,700

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 NM 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
Kealakai Center For Pacific String Traditions HI$279,563 Executive Director $31,900 $25,792 2024
Descendants Of Holocaust Survivors NY$279,204 Executive Director $74,946 $61,159 2024
Lexington Chinese School Inc MA$278,711 President $1,579 $1,319 2023
Intercourse Library Inc PA$278,303 Executive Di $60,408 $54,402 2024
La Conexion OH$278,029 Executive Director $12,001 $11,479 2024
Mexican Cultural Center PA$277,294 Director Of Programs $20,068 $18,073 2024
Alaska Native Voices Educational Institute AK$285,092 President $36,768 $31,745 2024
King Sejong Institute Center Usa CA$285,247 Cfo $38,004 $30,511 2023
Kake Tribal Heritage Foundation AK$285,602 Secretary/tr $8,000 $7,111 2023
Bit Community Center Inc MD$276,110 Executive Director & Ceo $65,360 $55,183 2024
Vanguard Culture CA$288,923 Board President $20,642 $16,572 2023
Maine Irish Heritage Center ME$273,177 Executive Director $80,000 $72,343 2024
Inner City Cultural League Inc DE$289,252 Executive Director $26,000 $23,670 2023
Islamic Leadership Institute Of America Inc MD$289,915 Chief, Research, Academics & Prgms $44,950 $39,072 2023
Shep-ty CA$272,124 Executive Dir. $115,189 $89,825 2024
Centro Cultural Hispano De San Marcos TX$290,437 Staff Administrator $24,245 $21,902 2024
Irish Heritage Center OH$271,167 Director $4,700 $4,628 2023
Cambodia Town Inc CA$290,976 Secretary $4,500 $3,613 2023
Red Earth Inc OK$270,989 Executive Di $43,306 $43,064 2024
Advocates For Indigenous California CA$292,769 Executive Dir. $65,000 $52,185 2023
Korean American Association And TX$269,225 Board Member $9,000 $8,130 2024
Creative City Kc Inc MO$294,500 Treasurer $82,500 $78,911 2024
Arkansas Culture And Dialog Center AR$295,824 Executive Director $81,917 $83,154 2024
Central District Forum For Arts & Ideas WA$297,012 Executive Dir. $91,129 $73,681 2024
Bomazeen Land Trust ME$297,541 Co-executive Director/board Member $45,604 $41,240 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NM 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 NM 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 default56th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)49th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted56th
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 (Marilyn Baeza-ponce) 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 159 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A23), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $47,700 is reasonable (approximately the 56th 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.