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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Why Not Win Institute Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 831525256
AL · NTEE B60
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Stephanie Buffaloe, Executive Director / CEO ($85,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 146 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 77th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Stephanie Buffaloe — reported title “Former - ED”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

146 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 146 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,000 total compensation of comparable organizations → $243,065 $85,000
$14,98610th
$35,48825th
$60,406Median
$82,65275th
$114,83190th
$85,000This org · 77th
p10$14,986
p25$35,488
p50$60,406
p75$82,652
p90$114,831
$85,000

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 AL 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
Texas Apartment Association Education TX$412,003 Ceo $50,298 $46,572 2024
Professional Psych Seminars CA$412,099 Pres & Director $51,900 $40,414 2025
Write Around Portland OR$409,223 Executive Di $79,507 $70,362 2023
Economic Growth Business Incubator TX$406,170 Executive Director $93,588 $86,656 2024
Florida Emergency Medicine Foundation FL$406,010 Former Ceo & Executive Director $27,692 $24,791 2023
Financial Health Institute Npo CO$416,846 Founding Dir $24,000 $21,302 2024
Literacy Network Of South Berkshire Inc MA$419,592 Executive Director $100,534 $83,623 2024
Strategic Education International VA$419,700 Executive Director $194,240 $178,728 2023
Texas Choral Directors Association TX$419,703 Executive Di $97,978 $90,720 2024
Heartland Institute Of Financial Education CO$402,262 Former Director $51,498 $47,058 2023
Olami Arizona Inc AZ$402,105 Brumer $70,833 $63,056 2024
Voca Center Inc NY$421,632 Director/president $126,710 $105,984 2024
Women's Rural Entrepreneurial NH$399,440 Executive Di $55,523 $46,232 2025
Calcpa Institute CA$398,027 President And Ceo $16,587 $13,258 2024
Maker Works Community Workshops MI$431,266 Executive Di $19,392 $18,527 2024
American Association Of Public Health NY$388,966 Executive Director $15,000 $12,546 2024
Maimonides Heritage Center Ltd NY$435,255 Founder & Dean $65,000 $54,368 2024
Nccpa Health Foundation Inc GA$435,893 President And Ceo, Nccpa $93,946 $87,437 2024
Friends Of The Castle Inc OH$386,386 Executive Director $57,976 $58,518 2023
Molokai Homestead Farmers Alliance HI$383,519 President $3,150 $2,610 2024
Literacy Volunteers Of Wayne County Inc NY$383,395 Executive Director $61,919 $51,791 2024
Leadership Eastside WA$383,356 President And Ceo $109,000 $90,331 2024
Ohio Empowerment Centers Inc OH$381,435 President And Ceo $149,968 $147,027 2024
Blue Ridge Literacy VA$380,696 Executive Dir. $56,660 $50,640 2024
Writing By Writers CA$377,918 President $101,278 $78,863 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AL 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 AL 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 default77th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)68th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted33rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted70th

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 (Stephanie Buffaloe) 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 146 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $85,000 is reasonable (approximately the 77th 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.