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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Upward Project

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 825201485
MA · NTEE B99
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Mindy Wright, Executive Director / CEO ($100,889) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 442 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 78th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

442 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 442 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$140 total compensation of comparable organizations → $355,880 $100,889
$16,41910th
$38,57025th
$65,935Median
$96,36975th
$128,80490th
$100,889This org · 78th
p10$16,419
p25$38,570
p50$65,935
p75$96,369
p90$128,804
$100,889

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
American Achievement Testing Inc DC$386,410 Ceo $152,925 $149,337 2024
Invasive Species Action Network MT$386,496 Executive Di $68,333 $84,390 2023
District Twelve Educators' Association CO$386,999 President $134,965 $144,016 2024
Central Indiana Clubhouse Nfp Corp IN$385,145 $54,618 $64,096 2024
Su Casa De Esperanza Inc TX$384,544 Executive Dir. $38,490 $44,112 2023
Safe Schools South Florida FL$387,647 Executive Di $33,010 $35,528 2023
Vermilion Sea Institute WA$388,248 Exeutive Director & Treasurer $31,340 $31,225 2024
The Public Education Foundation Inc IN$389,005 Executive Director $48,767 $58,920 2023
Oakland Digital Arts And Literacy Center Inc CA$382,357 Executive Director $94,800 $93,786 2023
Kiilys Kids Incoporated FL$390,256 President $110,000 $114,995 2024
The Nobelity Project TX$392,021 Executive Director $96,336 $110,406 2023
Building Equity Aspiration Resilience CA$378,984 President Ceo $104,000 $102,888 2023
Kingdom Classical Academy PA$378,121 Head Of School & President $23,332 $26,657 2023
Adult Learning Center SC$394,287 Director $100,455 $113,617 2025
Mcminnville Christian Academy OR$377,691 Principal $15,900 $16,917 2023
Freedom Center For DE$394,810 Executive Di $53,200 $57,968 2024
Murray Education Foundation UT$394,832 Director $13,541 $15,422 2024
Stark Education Partnership Inc OH$395,046 President $196,358 $238,273 2023
Cumberland County Bar Association PA$395,243 Executive Di $76,065 $84,413 2024
Women In Neuroscience TX$376,881 Interim Executive Director $57,000 $63,451 2024
Aamva Region Ii Inc VA$395,339 Director, Regions I & Ii $15,357 $16,989 2023
Bethel Enrichment Center Incorporated NC$376,665 Vice President $135 $155 2024
Communities In Schools Of Candler Co Inc GA$395,553 Director $36,575 $39,870 2025
Sunshine Academy Summer School VA$396,640 President $20,000 $22,125 2023
Plumfield Academy Inc MA$374,824 President $43,304 $44,583 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 2024 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 default78th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)83rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted80th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted72nd

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 (Mindy Wright) 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 442 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $100,889 is reasonable (approximately the 78th 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.