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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Real-life Works Incorporated

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 822363401
NC · NTEE J32
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Chrystal Austin, Executive Director / CEO ($40,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 355 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 53rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

355 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 355 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$16 total compensation of comparable organizations → $524,506 $40,000
$3,90110th
$10,36125th
$36,400Median
$65,49575th
$88,14890th
$40,000This org · 53rd
p10$3,901
p25$10,361
p50$36,400
p75$65,495
p90$88,148
$40,000

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 NC 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
Instruction Construction OR$240,283 Executive Director $90,000 $80,888 2023
Shreveport Professional Firefighters LA$241,319 President $12,600 $13,043 2024
Brotherhood Of Railroad Signalmen NM$241,426 President $2,426 $2,525 2023
Employment Service Consultants Inc CA$241,439 President & Ceo $70,470 $58,892 2023
Ten Thousand Villages Of Austin TX$239,330 Executive Dir. $50,114 $48,516 2023
Oregon Acte Inc OR$242,007 Executive Director $40,500 $36,400 2023
American Postal Workers Union PA$242,172 President $7,250 $6,796 2024
Local No 1560 Amalgamated Transit Union LA$242,327 President $22,245 $23,026 2024
International Association Of Machinists & Aerospace Workers IL$242,334 President $4,650 $4,298 2024
Insulators Local 37 Joint Apprenticeship IN$238,754 Director/administrator $79,709 $81,352 2023
Protective Service Officers United MD$242,695 President $18,969 $16,671 2024
International Association Of Sheet Metal Air Rail & Transportation 0023td CA$243,029 President $5,696 $4,624 2024
Greater Fort Lauderdale Gay And Lesbian FL$238,062 President $147,587 $134,183 2023
Brass City Local Cacp Inc CT$243,248 President $11,811 $10,718 2023
United Core Alliance CA$243,448 President & Ceo $25,750 $20,902 2024
Intl Brotherhood Of Boilermaker Mpbp CA$243,849 President $7,598 $6,167 2024
American Federation Of Teachers MN$244,040 President $82,437 $74,599 2025
West Central Ohio Manufacturing OH$244,260 Managing Director $56,700 $56,453 2024
Baltimore Green Justice Workers MD$236,775 President $67,608 $59,417 2024
Center For Youth Development Through Law CA$236,575 Executive Dir. $68,172 $55,337 2024
Climate Jobs Massachusetts Action Fund MA$244,905 Executive Director $129,810 $109,655 2024
Milpitas Police Officers Association CA$235,488 President $10,900 $8,619 2025
The Journey Forward IL$235,172 Executive Director $90,366 $83,513 2024
Las Vegas Peace Officers Association NV$234,866 President $6,681 $6,133 2025
Smith Steel Workers' Directly Affiliated WI$246,381 Trustee $26,540 $26,056 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NC 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 NC 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 default53rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)51st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted61st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted50th

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 (Chrystal Austin) 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 355 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (J), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $40,000 is reasonable (approximately the 53rd 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.