Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Self Development Scottsdale Academy

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 822956649
AZ · NTEE B29
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Vernetta Madsen, Executive Director / CEO ($4,995) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 223 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 14th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Vernetta Madsen — reported title “MEMBER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

223 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 223 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$152 total compensation of comparable organizations → $458,358 $4,995
$3,16110th
$9,04125th
$20,187Median
$44,59675th
$97,61590th
$4,995This org · 14th
p10$3,161
p25$9,041
p50$20,187
p75$44,596
p90$97,615
$4,995

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 AZ 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
Association Of Two-way And Dual CA$52,172 Executive Dir. $155,000 $135,177 2024
Kauffman Fasttrac Inc MO$52,110 Board Member/treasurer $76,422 $81,749 2024
Otho Davis Scholarship Foundat NJ$52,243 Exec Director $20,000 $18,035 2024
Aj Center Inc FL$52,350 Vp $12,500 $11,859 2024
Hepburn Bootstrap Foundation Inc WI$52,463 Assistant Secretary $57,748 $62,710 2023
Ohio Contractors Association Advancement OH$51,788 Treasurer/secretary $49,422 $52,867 2024
Barneveld Free Library Association NY$52,597 Library Director $20,106 $18,891 2023
The Drost Family Foundation NY$52,606 Trustee $2,860 $2,687 2023
Shiloh University IA$52,703 President And Trustee $60,000 $68,311 2023
Yau High School Sciences Awards MA$51,477 Treasurer/director $9,416 $8,798 2023
Mat Foundation CA$52,892 Administrator $24,000 $21,549 2023
Barat Education Foundation IL$52,959 Treasurer $3,000 $2,902 2025
Airmen Memorial Foundation Inc MD$51,291 Treasurer $8,743 $8,255 2024
Seakay Inc CA$51,253 President Ceo $54,000 $47,094 2024
Fsa Scholarship Foundation TX$53,115 Executive Director $17,400 $18,098 2023
Citizens For Road Safety Texas TX$53,170 President $7,500 $7,577 2024
Colorado Municipal Judges CO$51,168 Exec Director $18,920 $18,323 2024
The Coalition Of Schools Educating MA$53,238 Former Executive Director $152,258 $134,624 2025
Las Vegas Collegiate Inc NV$50,720 Exe. Director/chair $103,000 $111,755 2022
Wireless Infrastructure Association VA$53,833 President $42,749 $41,688 2024
Ilpa Scholarships Forever Inc IA$50,432 Executive Di $5,764 $6,562 2023
The Dimon Institute Inc Aka Dimon NY$50,234 Director, President, Treas $12,000 $10,669 2025
Professional Engineers Of North NC$50,147 Director $7,500 $8,058 2023
The Ivy Foundation VA$54,330 Executive Director $104,004 $104,417 2023
School Of Leadership For Public Service MN$49,826 Start-up Coordinator $14,525 $15,535 2022

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AZ 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 AZ 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 default14th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)13th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted43rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted12th

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 (Vernetta Madsen) 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 223 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (B), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $4,995 is reasonable (approximately the 14th 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.