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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

White Dwarf Research Corporation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 742924755
CO · NTEE U053
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Travis Metcalfe, Executive Director / CEO ($157,711) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 109 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 97th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

109 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 109 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,614 total compensation of comparable organizations → $305,971 $157,711
$11,34210th
$26,76725th
$54,202Median
$101,09975th
$130,36590th
$157,711This org · 97th
p10$11,342
p25$26,767
p50$54,202
p75$101,099
p90$130,365
$157,711

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 CO 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
Institute For Workforce Advancement NY$260,315 Director Of Finance $140,724 $132,615 2024
Campersand Co NM$260,814 Executive Director $10,000 $11,217 2024
Bluechip Ratings Inc DE$255,635 Director, Secretary And Treasurer $25,000 $26,282 2023
Collaborative Earth Institute CA$261,533 Executive Dir. $23,500 $21,787 2023
Us Technology Leadership Council VA$261,639 Director And Vp Of Operati $143,000 $143,994 2024
Other Internet Research Institute NY$261,816 President $25,346 $24,591 2023
Rocks Build America Foundation VA$254,249 Int. Pres. & Ceo (From 10/2024) $59,384 $59,797 2024
Owner-operator Independent Drivers MO$254,002 Director Of Op. $103,395 $117,581 2023
Assoc Of Computer Science Leagues Inc RI$253,725 Preszident $56,000 $54,557 2025
Bible Archeology Search And Exploration Foundation CO$263,551 President $20,183 $20,183 2024
The Soul Phone Foundation OH$251,286 President, Director $48,000 $54,586 2023
Engineering Change Lab - Usa NE$251,213 President Executive Director $62,400 $72,060 2023
Transparency Coalition Action Fund WA$250,168 Chair $30,000 $28,838 2023
Climate Law And Policy Project Inc MD$266,745 President/chairman $182,273 $177,716 2024
Cyberdrone Challenge MD$250,002 Treasurer $10,000 $9,750 2024
Mining And Minerals Education Foundation AZ$267,071 Exec Director $40,000 $39,085 2025
Black Girls Do Engineer Corporation TX$267,106 Ceo $54,904 $57,276 2024
Institute For Leadership In Capital Projects TX$267,428 Executive Director $56,905 $59,364 2024
Cultural Heritage Imaging CA$249,370 President $48,750 $43,901 2024
California Ocean Alliance CA$267,850 Rotating Member Finance Director $17,280 $15,561 2024
The Micropaleontology Press NY$247,984 Exe. Editor $52,000 $49,004 2024
Nebraska Coalition For Life Saving Cures NE$272,121 Executive Director $99,000 $111,046 2024
Boston Groundwater Trust MA$273,315 Executive Director $126,120 $115,147 2025
Kacyra Family Foundation CA$273,688 Director $26,407 $23,780 2024
Acpa Foundation IL$277,234 President/chair $35,164 $36,053 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CO 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 CO 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 default97th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)97th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted95th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted89th

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 (Travis Metcalfe) 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 109 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (U), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $157,711 is reasonable (approximately the 97th 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.