Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Julie Birdwell, Executive Director / CEO ($10,094) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 115 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 8th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations
Benchmarked executive: Julie Birdwell — reported title “Executive Dir.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.
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.
| Organization | State | Revenue | Matched title | Comp (reported) | Comp (adjusted) | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boilermaker Aquatics Inc | IN | $419,604 | Head Coach | $73,098 | $71,446 | 2025 |
| Lexington Dolphins Inc | KY | $415,197 | Ceo | $60,120 | $61,449 | 2024 |
| Valpo Surf Project Inc | ME | $415,175 | Founder / Ceo | $83,255 | $79,311 | 2024 |
| Spirit Of America Foundation Inc | OH | $412,418 | Ceo/presiden | $85,623 | $86,276 | 2024 |
| Upper Arlington Crew Inc | OH | $427,393 | Executive Di | $3,000 | $2,945 | 2025 |
| Mission Aurora Colorado Swim Team | CO | $410,117 | Head Coach | $73,502 | $65,322 | 2025 |
| Camp Randall Rowing Club Inc | WI | $430,056 | Head Coach | $22,917 | $22,769 | 2024 |
| Hingham High School Rowing Assoc | MA | $433,996 | Program Director | $30,175 | $25,797 | 2024 |
| Team Y2k | IL | $403,387 | President | $90,500 | $87,144 | 2023 |
| Bay Ridge Aquatics Institute Inc | NY | $398,298 | Treasurer | $30,983 | $26,635 | 2024 |
| East Carolina Aquatics Inc | NC | $440,654 | Ceo | $76,100 | $72,877 | 2025 |
| City Island Rowing Inc | NY | $397,021 | Executive Dire | $65,675 | $58,126 | 2023 |
| Verona Area Swim Team Inc | WI | $441,450 | Vice President | $769 | $764 | 2024 |
| Spokane Waves Aquatic Team | WA | $447,497 | Head Coach | $66,700 | $58,490 | 2023 |
| Cdm Aquatics Federation | CA | $388,281 | President | $30,150 | $25,500 | 2023 |
| Lakeshore Swim Club Corp | OH | $450,349 | Head Coach | $62,404 | $62,880 | 2024 |
| Bare Hill Rowing Association Inc | MA | $450,700 | Program Director | $56,875 | $48,622 | 2024 |
| Thunder Inc | TN | $451,570 | Director/coach | $80,000 | $80,000 | 2024 |
| Solano Aquatic Sea Otters | CA | $386,023 | Coach | $79,800 | $65,555 | 2024 |
| Long Beach Shore Aquatics Inc | CA | $385,894 | President | $35,650 | $29,286 | 2024 |
| Frederick Area Swim Team Inc | MD | $382,688 | President | $2,943 | $2,695 | 2023 |
| Swift Aquatics Llc | IL | $380,135 | Officer | $76,346 | $73,515 | 2023 |
| Mundelein Mustang Swim Club | IL | $458,367 | Chief Executive Officer | $74,704 | $68,068 | 2025 |
| Back Bay Aquatics Foundation | CA | $460,320 | President | $50,484 | $41,472 | 2024 |
| St Augustine Yacht Club Sailin | FL | $461,523 | Manager | $82,600 | $73,821 | 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 2024 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.
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.
Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:
| Basis | Subject percentile |
|---|---|
| Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default | 8th |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 8th |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 10th |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 8th |
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.
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
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.