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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

R4creating

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 811547684
NM · NTEE B01
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dr Shelly Gruenig, Executive Director / CEO ($74,567) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 67 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 67th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Dr Shelly Gruenig — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

67 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 67 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$863 total compensation of comparable organizations → $150,022 $74,567
$17,84710th
$33,87125th
$50,533Median
$77,67275th
$94,62090th
$74,567This org · 67th
p10$17,847
p25$33,871
p50$50,533
p75$77,672
p90$94,620
$74,567

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
South Carolina First Steps To SC$265,605 Executive Di $41,509 $40,262 2023
South Carolina First Steps To SC$260,668 Ed-thru 6/30 $70,246 $68,136 2023
Pa Families For Education Choice PA$260,174 President/tr $33,000 $29,719 2024
Awareness Is Prevention Inc NV$270,478 President $13,333 $12,426 2023
Walnut Grove Coop Inc DE$259,090 Chair $35,640 $30,702 2025
Teachers Unite Inc NY$274,686 Co-executive Director $88,095 $74,013 2023
Advocates For Womens And Kids Equality TN$275,539 Executive Dir. $73,200 $69,486 2024
Education Justice Coalition Of Vt VT$254,459 Director $46,202 $43,237 2023
Daybreak Arts TN$275,754 Executive Director $50,163 $46,390 2025
Charter Schools Action Fund DC$254,081 Ceo Of Napcs - Until 12/23 $30,188 $23,923 2024
Heart Sense Corporation LA$253,733 President $113,968 $113,331 2024
Empower Illinois IL$276,402 Ceo $130,147 $115,548 2024
Manos Inocentes Por El Derecho A La Vida UT$278,541 Accounting Manager $3,040 $2,810 2024
Northstar Tutoring DC$251,101 Executive Director $119,167 $94,437 2024
Sound Start Foundation NJ$279,925 President/ceo $114,000 $91,918 2024
Macon-bibb Mayor's Literacy GA$280,335 Executive Di $75,000 $70,114 2023
Washington Ethnic Studies Now WA$249,502 Executive Director $150,000 $121,280 2024
Washington Student Association WA$248,411 Executive Director $60,000 $49,945 2023
Nd Senior Career Development ND$282,338 Director $50,000 $48,275 2025
South Carolina First Steps SC$247,364 Executive Di $44,313 $42,982 2023
South Carolina First Steps To SC$246,903 Executive Di $45,893 $44,514 2023
Redemption Foundation MI$283,390 Executive Director (Ended 4/24) $20,502 $19,111 2024
Local Learningthe National Network For Folk Arts In Education NY$245,447 Executive Director $50,496 $42,424 2023
Davidsonians For Freedom Of Thought And Discourse SC$243,390 Executive Director $80,937 $78,505 2023
Cyber Texas Foundation Inc TX$243,071 Executive Director/secretary $20,323 $18,359 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 default67th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)63rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted69th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted64th

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 (Dr Shelly Gruenig) 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 67 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B01), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $74,567 is reasonable (approximately the 67th 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.