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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Student Media Corporation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 841113186
KS · NTEE A33Z
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Matt Lubich, Executive Director / CEO ($46,370) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 31 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 61st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Matt Lubich — reported title “GENERAL MANAGER”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

31 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 31 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,396 total compensation of comparable organizations → $104,939 $46,370
$8,20910th
$15,53825th
$27,243Median
$51,82975th
$71,38890th
$46,370This org · 61st
p10$8,209
p25$15,538
p50$27,243
p75$51,829
p90$71,388
$46,370

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 KS 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
Border Belt Reporting Inc NC$172,493 President $25,000 $23,225 2024
Dialogue Foundation UT$176,457 Trustee $27,500 $25,305 2024
Catamaran Literary Reader CA$178,599 Executive Director $91,952 $71,388 2024
Self Knowledge Symposium Foundation NC$148,687 Accountant $18,000 $17,216 2023
School Science And Mathematics Association OK$148,325 Executive Director $12,000 $11,880 2024
The Codex Foundation CA$180,771 Executive Di $85,500 $66,379 2024
Latinx Kidlit Book Festival Inc NY$146,948 Treasurer $5,000 $4,063 2024
Lantern Publishing & Media NY$181,699 President $50,000 $40,622 2024
India Childrens Press CA$183,719 Ceo $55,000 $43,961 2023
Media Ecosystems Analysis MA$184,241 President & $126,160 $104,939 2023
Western States Communication Association MT$187,356 Executive Director $12,500 $12,472 2023
Medical Physics Publishing Corporation WI$138,456 General Manager $57,105 $53,620 2024
Latin American Perspectives Inc CA$190,599 Vice President $19,875 $15,430 2024
The Institute For Jewish Research MA$129,559 President $59,500 $48,072 2024
Fellowship For Intentional Community Inc MO$200,800 Manager $19,462 $18,533 2024
Chinese Seattle News WA$126,707 President $18,000 $14,116 2025
Owen News Project Inc IN$126,693 President $16,500 $15,645 2024
The Denver Homeless Voice CO$201,906 Executive Director $56,375 $50,037 2023
Targum Publishing Company NJ$209,199 Editor In Chief - Member $10,226 $8,209 2024
Superstars Writing CO$212,953 Member $24,570 $21,808 2023
Inlandia Institute Inc CA$213,419 Executive Director $64,220 $49,858 2024
Escape Artists Foundation Inc GA$113,870 Editor/board Member $1,500 $1,396 2023
Sustainability Institute Inc VT$216,115 Co-director $87,245 $81,284 2023
Dzanc Books Inc MI$217,668 Editor-in-chief $50,000 $47,771 2023
The Observer IN$227,989 Editor-in-chief $5,396 $5,267 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to KS 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 KS 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 default61st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)55th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted61st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted61st

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 (Matt Lubich) 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 31 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A33), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $46,370 is reasonable (approximately the 61st 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.