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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Cap And Gown Project

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 810829915
AL · NTEE B11
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Emily Heller, Executive Director / CEO ($27,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 93 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 55th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

93 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 93 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$404 total compensation of comparable organizations → $184,573 $27,000
$5,76110th
$15,27725th
$24,687Median
$48,63175th
$79,01990th
$27,000This org · 55th
p10$5,761
p25$15,277
p50$24,687
p75$48,631
p90$79,019
$27,000

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 AL 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
Nacs Foundation OH$159,133 Ceo $21,014 $20,602 2024
Cdu Foundation CA$158,600 Treasurer $35,190 $28,957 2023
Aggie Redrock Foundation UT$158,497 Treasurer $78,986 $72,900 2025
Sc Technology Center Inc MI$158,481 Director & President $188,886 $180,464 2024
Icpi Foundation For Education And VA$155,870 President & Ceo $19,964 $18,370 2023
Hempfield Foundation PA$155,185 Executive Director $24,542 $22,654 2024
The Fay School Endowment Fund TX$164,447 Head Of School $28,931 $27,580 2023
Santa Rosa Academy Foundation CA$165,173 President $53,021 $42,379 2024
University Of Northern California CA$165,491 President $30,000 $24,687 2023
Flt Holding Inc OK$165,816 President $5,608 $5,885 2023
Pinkney Innovation Complex For Science & MD$152,797 Executive Director $41,024 $36,550 2023
Westerville South Athletic Boosters OH$167,335 Concession C $6,000 $5,730 2025
Mustang Mockingbird Properties TX$151,250 President $85,562 $79,224 2024
Marine Military Academy Foundation TX$168,034 President $67,778 $62,757 2024
Lancaster-lebanon Education Foundat PA$168,501 Exec Dir At $92,968 $85,817 2024
Eccs Building Company MN$170,500 Chair $17,689 $16,656 2023
Cascia Hall Foundation OK$147,933 Assistant Treasurer $14,275 $14,980 2023
Friends Of Upland Choral Music CA$172,068 Treasurer $7,200 $5,606 2025
Friends Of Vada At Santa Barbara High School CA$145,475 Director/chairman $10,000 $7,787 2025
Friends Of Soldiers Memorial Library ME$142,337 Library Director $14,153 $13,506 2023
Bear Valley Usd Education Foundation CA$141,267 President $1,910 $1,487 2025
West Coast Thunder CA$140,749 Executive Dir. $31,268 $24,992 2024
Savannah Classical Academy GA$179,227 Executive Di $110,557 $105,937 2023
Mike Steele Foundation For Communities In Schools TX$180,023 President & Ceo $8,035 $7,440 2024
White Plains Library Foundation Inc NY$138,562 Part Time Executive Direct $72,000 $62,002 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AL 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 AL 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 default55th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)47th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted76th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted30th

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 (Emily Heller) 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 93 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B11), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $27,000 is reasonable (approximately the 55th 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.