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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Big Sky Fifty Five Plus

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 824712803
MT · NTEE W24
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Margie Macdonald, Executive Director / CEO ($62,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 20 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 35th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

20 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 20 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$13,390 total compensation of comparable organizations → $159,678 $62,500
$32,24310th
$48,24425th
$85,315Median
$116,70075th
$135,26190th
$62,500This org · 35th
p10$32,243
p25$48,244
p50$85,315
p75$116,700
p90$135,261
$62,500

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 MT 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
March To The Polls TX$498,297 Executive Director $91,666 $80,494 2025
Carbon Business Development Council NY$479,911 Director & Board Chair $139,517 $113,600 2024
Wisconsin Family Action WI$502,418 President $50,979 $47,974 2024
Endowment For Middle East Truth MD$473,288 Executive Director $153,785 $133,379 2023
Espacios Abiertos Puerto Rico Inc PR$473,260 Excecutive Director $126,000 $126,000 2023
The Maryland Public Policy Institute Inc MD$472,932 President & Ceo $23,000 $19,376 2024
Mormon Women For Ethical Government Foun UT$463,124 Executive Dir. $50,906 $48,334 2023
South Asian Impact Foundation DC$523,620 Executive Director $16,934 $13,390 2024
Fairvote Minnesota Foundation MN$397,347 Executive Director $101,632 $90,490 2024
True Texas Education Corporation TX$393,945 Director $100,000 $90,136 2024
Illinois State Association Of IL$594,671 Executive Di $180,250 $159,678 2024
Alliance For A Better Minneota Education Fund MN$602,595 Executive Director $151,897 $135,244 2024
Caesar Rodney Institute DE$375,428 Executive Director $52,000 $47,235 2023
Better Wyoming WY$373,140 Executive Di $67,494 $67,048 2023
Minnesota Voters Alliance MN$367,012 Executive Director $108,805 $96,876 2024
The Rendell Center For Civics And PA$356,748 Executive Director $105,278 $97,396 2023
Bikewalk North Carolina NC$329,878 Executive Di $65,250 $59,185 2025
Pittsburghers For Public Transit PA$672,139 Executive Dir. $73,842 $66,353 2024
Instituto Power AZ$678,000 Executive Director $37,742 $33,673 2023
Courage California CA$684,378 President $169,036 $135,409 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MT 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 MT 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 default35th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)30th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted35th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted25th

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 (Margie Macdonald) 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 20 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (W24), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $62,500 is reasonable (approximately the 35th 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.