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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Health Information Exchange Of Montana

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 800414603
MT · NTEE W050
FY ending 2025-03-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sherri Dugan, Executive Director / CEO ($6,075) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 19 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 0th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Sherri Dugan — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

19 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 19 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$15,381 total compensation of comparable organizations → $256,331 $6,075
$27,48410th
$55,18125th
$122,882Median
$158,36075th
$203,19990th
$6,075This org · 0th
p10$27,484
p25$55,181
p50$122,882
p75$158,360
p90$203,199
$6,075

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 MT 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
A Better Wisconsin Together Institute WI$414,610 Executive Director $15,467 $15,381 2024
The National Foundation For VA$421,029 Executive Di $242,406 $222,876 2024
Citizens For Local Power Inc NY$435,324 Former Executive Director $80,000 $68,838 2024
Pennsylvania Policy Center PA$389,066 President/ce $32,352 $30,722 2024
Defi Education Fund DC$438,672 Ceo $230,477 $198,280 2023
Urbanova WA$367,097 Ceo $140,000 $122,882 2023
Tobin Project Inc MA$463,981 Director Of Research $147,799 $130,207 2023
Transportation Solutions Foundation CO$465,105 Executive Di $190,920 $174,325 2024
Unconstrained Analytics Inc MD$341,822 Director $159,500 $141,996 2024
Garden State Initiative Inc NJ$504,828 President $63,333 $53,846 2024
University Research Institute TX$321,005 Chairman $27,000 $26,478 2023
Driving Ohio Forward OH$318,600 President & Assistant Secr $85,700 $86,434 2024
The Campaign For Liberty Inc TX$511,345 Executive Director $145,200 $142,394 2023
Social Security Works Education Fund DC$515,086 Executive Dir. $216,270 $186,057 2023
Salt & Light Global MI$308,472 President $57,500 $56,515 2024
Financial Policy Council Inc NY$307,488 Chairman And President $297,897 $256,331 2024
National Institute For Deterrence S OH$557,840 Bodadvisor $27,500 $27,736 2024
Truman Center For National Policy DC$580,961 Executive Vice President $156,384 $130,678 2024
Foundation For Public Affairs DC$619,714 President $141,033 $117,850 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MT cost of living and 2025 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 MT 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 default0th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)0th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted32nd

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 (Sherri Dugan) 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 19 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (W05), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $6,075 is reasonable (approximately the 0th 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.