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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Massachusetts Peace Action Education Fund

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 711000061
MA · NTEE W20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Brian Garvey, Executive Director / CEO ($38,401) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 28 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 11th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

28 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 28 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$6,561 total compensation of comparable organizations → $197,054 $38,401
$36,51110th
$71,56425th
$106,496Median
$128,47375th
$180,68990th
$38,401This org · 11th
p10$36,511
p25$71,564
p50$106,496
p75$128,473
p90$180,689
$38,401

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 MA 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
Government Oversight And Education Inc VA$380,086 Preisdent $180,000 $193,406 2024
Decatur Legacy Project Inc GA$374,115 Executive Dir. $74,000 $82,800 2024
Portage Development Board OH$371,014 President $102,636 $120,972 2024
Kentucky County Clerks Association KY$364,818 Executive Dir. $51,865 $63,840 2023
The Transparency Foundation CA$354,319 Ceo $110,000 $108,824 2023
Northwest Ottawa Recreation Authority MI$352,532 Nora Director $53,734 $60,129 2025
100reporters DC$351,207 President $129,165 $129,860 2023
To The Village Square Inc FL$422,019 Founder & Ce $85,000 $88,860 2024
Women Winning MN$428,587 Executive Director $160,542 $176,531 2024
California City Management Foundation CA$434,938 Executive Director $129,394 $128,010 2023
Wv Cant Wait Votes A Non-profit Corporation WV$329,916 Cochair $69,471 $86,178 2023
Washington Dc Homeland Security DC$446,271 President $196,000 $197,054 2023
New York State Association Of Traffic NY$449,202 Treasurer $6,338 $6,561 2023
Fda Expositions Inc MD$458,747 President $183,000 $190,390 2024
Visit Issaquah WA$302,029 Executive Director $116,700 $116,270 2024
Tea Party Patriots Foundation Inc GA$472,219 President $14,706 $16,941 2023
Center For Procurement Advocacy Inc DC$472,417 Executive Director $26,890 $27,034 2023
State Government Affairs Council VA$478,088 Executive Director $37,760 $40,572 2024
Center For New Democratic Processes MN$480,227 Executive Director $136,396 $154,410 2023
Public Service Leadership Academy Inc VA$286,298 Key Employee $69,000 $74,139 2024
The Dekleptocracy Project VA$484,422 President And Executive Director $109,375 $120,993 2023
Wisconsin County Forests Association Inc WI$273,826 Executive Director $99,918 $116,124 2024
Guardianship Corp NY$261,698 President $135,000 $135,753 2024
Minnesota Counties Foundation MN$526,359 Executive Director $40,614 $44,659 2024
Somerset Economic Development ME$551,464 Executive Director $90,800 $104,168 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MA 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 MA 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 default11th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)14th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted18th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted7th

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 (Brian Garvey) 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 28 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (W20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $38,401 is reasonable (approximately the 11th 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.