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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Thinking Project Institute

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 822269798
CO · NTEE B90
FY ending 2023-07-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Rachel Pickett, Executive Director / CEO ($102,588) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 338 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 91st percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

338 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 338 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$11 total compensation of comparable organizations → $232,650 $102,588
$11,44510th
$24,32425th
$50,781Median
$74,06675th
$96,94090th
$102,588This org · 91st
p10$11,445
p25$24,324
p50$50,781
p75$74,066
p90$96,940
$102,588

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
New Day Ministries Inc KY$221,206 Executive Director $82,167 $92,063 2023
Community Campus VT$221,131 Director $59,510 $60,675 2024
Economics Arkansas Foundation AR$220,831 Executive Director $17,065 $19,430 2024
Central Jersey Rider Training Inc NJ$220,807 Executive Director $47,600 $44,322 2023
Steaming Ahead For Success Inc NM$222,048 Ceo $60,000 $67,301 2023
National Voices For Equality Education And Enlightenment Inc FL$222,277 Executive Director $49,510 $48,505 2023
Stem Leadership Center Inc CT$222,300 Director $37,688 $35,795 2024
Vision Tutoring Educational Foundation Inc GA$222,378 Executive Director $64,418 $67,549 2023
Camp Sweet Life Adventures Inc MN$219,685 Exec Director/key Ee $36,750 $37,870 2023
Learning Environments Action Research TX$219,583 Executive Director (Thru 10/31/24) $54,319 $55,041 2024
Your Own Greatness Affirmed Inc CA$223,129 Executive Director $70,500 $61,666 2024
Hodos Institute WA$219,466 President, Board Member $96,500 $90,102 2023
Americans For The Competitive Enterprise PA$223,171 Secretary & Exec Director $71,924 $72,655 2024
Northwest Education Alliance NC$223,335 Secretary $43,200 $45,216 2024
Summer Work Experience In Law Inc OH$223,422 Executive Director $22,975 $24,650 2024
Futuro Inc TN$219,010 Executive Officer $70,000 $74,534 2024
Cine Las Americas TX$223,628 Executive Director $52,126 $52,819 2024
Lighthouse Academies Inc FL$218,951 Ceo $145,913 $138,851 2024
Acton Academy Amarillo TX$223,681 Board Member $7,530 $7,630 2024
Create Inc TN$218,914 President $33,000 $35,137 2024
Pasadena Education Network CA$223,742 Executive Director $77,899 $68,138 2024
Elevate West Alabama AL$218,833 Executive Director $76,249 $81,291 2025
Teachers As Scholars Inc MA$218,356 Director $75,800 $67,220 2025
National Bible Bowl FL$218,089 Executive Director $21,538 $21,101 2023
Excel By 5 Inc MS$217,610 Executive Di $97,911 $113,725 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CO 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 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 default91st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)91st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted90th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted87th

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 (Rachel Pickett) 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 338 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B90), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $102,588 is reasonable (approximately the 91st 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.