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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Citizen Scholars Institute Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 813296125
SC · NTEE O50
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dr Susan Little, Executive Director / CEO ($75,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 493 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 82nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

493 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 493 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$16 total compensation of comparable organizations → $144,468 $75,000
$11,08810th
$28,08425th
$50,029Median
$68,50775th
$89,06290th
$75,000This org · 82nd
p10$11,088
p25$28,084
p50$50,029
p75$68,507
p90$89,062
$75,000

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 SC 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
Ethos Volleyball Club TN$272,794 Director $70,000 $68,507 2024
I Am Academy MI$273,198 Director $50,615 $48,641 2024
Girls On The Run Of Greater CA$273,329 Executive Dir. $75,923 $61,039 2024
You Are Beautiful People Inc NY$271,834 Executive Di $82,500 $69,409 2024
Habesha Inc GA$271,617 Executive Director $50,000 $48,190 2023
Youth Celebrate Diversity CO$274,583 Executive Di $92,814 $80,725 2025
Akron Youth Mentorship OH$271,035 Executive Di $46,945 $47,661 2023
Supreme Family Foundation Inc GA$271,011 Executive Dir. $65,000 $62,647 2023
Team Factory NE$270,855 President $33,750 $33,797 2024
Sumanda Inc CA$270,753 Secretary/chief Financial $3,000 $2,483 2023
South Broadway Art Project MO$275,501 Office Manager $11,563 $11,739 2023
Ccdi Inc MO$270,212 President $28,909 $29,350 2023
Nica Nadadores Inc PA$269,883 President $27,225 $26,024 2023
Lanai Youth Center Inc HI$269,839 Executive Di $51,385 $44,098 2023
The Bloom Project Inc IN$269,431 Executive Director $60,000 $60,651 2023
A Fair Shake For Youth Inc NY$276,311 Exec Director $85,000 $71,512 2024
Firsthome Iq CA$268,537 Executive Director And Secretary $120,000 $96,475 2024
Berkshire Summer Music Inc MA$268,484 President $52,000 $43,506 2024
The Color A Positive Thought Organ CT$277,250 President $25,100 $22,559 2023
Msi Youth Foundation Inc IN$268,433 Director $2,341 $2,299 2024
Independent Order Of Oddfellows NC$268,213 Exec Director $15,000 $14,431 2024
Under The Lights Flag Football Foundation Inc FL$267,380 President $24,320 $21,900 2023
Sudbury Youth Basketball Inc MA$278,735 Administrator $11,840 $9,651 2025
Farmingdale Soccer Club Inc NY$266,920 1st Vice President $61,480 $51,724 2024
Rockteen Youth Foundation TX$266,614 C.o.o. $50,000 $49,908 2022

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to SC 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 SC 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 default82nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)73rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted84th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted81st

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 Susan Little) 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 493 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (O50), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $75,000 is reasonable (approximately the 82nd 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.