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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

American Research Universities

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 830769687
TN · NTEE B99
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Laurita Thomas, Executive Director / CEO ($80,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 397 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 81st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

397 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 397 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$123 total compensation of comparable organizations → $271,803 $80,000
$12,45510th
$30,23825th
$50,796Median
$73,57975th
$101,28890th
$80,000This org · 81st
p10$12,455
p25$30,238
p50$50,796
p75$73,579
p90$101,288
$80,000

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 TN 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
The Penitent Thief Inc FL$270,246 President $36,000 $33,026 2024
Girls With Books CO$270,613 Executive Director $61,920 $57,979 2024
Freedom Synergy Corporation FL$270,626 President $96,000 $88,067 2024
Ready For Reading Inc VT$270,629 Executive Dir. $2,000 $2,024 2023
African Voices Communications Inc NY$270,782 Executive Director $65,000 $59,051 2023
Bay State Learning Center MA$270,821 Executive Director $43,510 $39,308 2023
Wyomissing Area Education PA$269,785 Executive Di $34,752 $33,842 2024
Oaktown Jazz Workshops CA$271,149 Executive Dir. $65,971 $55,628 2024
Jireh Homeschool Cooperative TN$269,424 President $16,950 $16,950 2025
Ace Mentor Program Of Eastern Pa Inc PA$271,345 Affiliate Dir. $68,477 $68,654 2023
Progressive Learning Academy For Young Childrenearly Childhood Center MI$269,096 Director $38,677 $45,127 2021
Puerto Rico Advance Institute Corp PR$271,647 Manager $9,287 $9,533 2024
Client Assistance Program WA$269,011 Executive Director $91,650 $80,128 2024
Indiana American Family IN$268,785 Executive Di $111,227 $114,541 2024
Abbeville Institute Ltd AL$271,961 President Di $114,583 $120,882 2024
Winners Inc TX$271,992 President/director $100,000 $97,683 2024
The Samuel School PA$268,506 Principal $132,381 $125,592 2025
Upstart Crow Studios OR$268,389 Artistic Director $45,000 $42,014 2023
New Michigan Media MI$273,125 President $30,000 $30,238 2024
Nantucket Comedy Festival Inc MA$267,526 Executive Director $55,000 $48,263 2024
Conductability Inc CA$273,357 Program Director $113,322 $95,556 2024
Ohio School Psychologists OH$266,818 Executive Di $56,963 $58,916 2024
Hazing Prevention Network IN$266,697 Executive Director $80,000 $82,384 2024
Leadership Rochester Inc NY$266,693 Executive Director (Thru 2/2024) $68,135 $60,123 2024
Wordwalk Inc FL$274,090 Executive Di $3,000 $2,752 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TN cost of living and 2025 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 TN 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 default81st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)77th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted83rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted75th

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 (Laurita Thomas) 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 397 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $80,000 is reasonable (approximately the 81st 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.