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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Media Ecosystems Analysis

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 822956461
MA · NTEE A33
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Fernando Bermejo-acosta, Executive Director / CEO ($126,160) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 35 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 100th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Fernando Bermejo-acosta — reported title “PRESIDENT &”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

35 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 35 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$4,884 total compensation of comparable organizations → $112,289 $126,160
$13,79710th
$19,75325th
$48,837Median
$62,31075th
$85,49690th
$126,160This org · 100th
p10$13,797
p25$19,753
p50$48,837
p75$62,310
p90$85,496
$126,160

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 MA 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
India Childrens Press CA$183,719 Ceo $55,000 $52,851 2023
Lantern Publishing & Media NY$181,699 President $50,000 $48,837 2024
Western States Communication Association MT$187,356 Executive Director $12,500 $14,994 2023
The Codex Foundation CA$180,771 Executive Di $85,500 $79,802 2024
Catamaran Literary Reader CA$178,599 Executive Director $91,952 $85,824 2024
Latin American Perspectives Inc CA$190,599 Vice President $19,875 $18,551 2024
Dialogue Foundation UT$176,457 Trustee $27,500 $30,422 2024
Border Belt Reporting Inc NC$172,493 President $25,000 $27,922 2024
Fellowship For Intentional Community Inc MO$200,800 Manager $19,462 $22,281 2024
The Denver Homeless Voice CO$201,906 Executive Director $56,375 $60,156 2023
Student Media Corporation KS$163,991 General Manager $46,370 $55,747 2023
Targum Publishing Company NJ$209,199 Editor In Chief - Member $10,226 $9,869 2024
Superstars Writing CO$212,953 Member $24,570 $26,218 2023
Inlandia Institute Inc CA$213,419 Executive Director $64,220 $59,940 2024
Sustainability Institute Inc VT$216,115 Co-director $87,245 $97,722 2023
Dzanc Books Inc MI$217,668 Editor-in-chief $50,000 $57,431 2023
Self Knowledge Symposium Foundation NC$148,687 Accountant $18,000 $20,697 2023
School Science And Mathematics Association OK$148,325 Executive Director $12,000 $14,283 2024
Latinx Kidlit Book Festival Inc NY$146,948 Treasurer $5,000 $4,884 2024
The Observer IN$227,989 Editor-in-chief $5,396 $6,332 2023
Medical Physics Publishing Corporation WI$138,456 General Manager $57,105 $64,463 2024
The Land Cle OH$234,577 Executive Director $79,000 $90,442 2024
Evangelical Press Association Inc AZ$235,359 Executive Director $83,936 $85,004 2025
Republic Of Letters WA$236,809 President, Publisher, Editor $67,750 $65,564 2024
Rain Taxi Inc MN$238,044 Executive Director $45,958 $50,535 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MA 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 MA 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 default100th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)100th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted100th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted100th

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 (Fernando Bermejo-acosta) 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 35 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A33), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $126,160 is reasonable (approximately the 100th 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.