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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Energy Council

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 841473629
CO · NTEE S41
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Michelina Paulek, Executive Director / CEO ($90,254) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 535 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 46th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

535 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 535 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $442,868 $90,254
$34,15710th
$64,70025th
$94,930Median
$139,79775th
$199,12090th
$90,254This org · 46th
p10$34,157
p25$64,700
p50$94,930
p75$139,797
p90$199,120
$90,254

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 CO 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
European-american Chamber Of Commerce OH$444,419 Executive Director - Start 06/23 $64,545 $73,400 2023
National Association Of Fraternal MN$445,224 Executive Di $84,460 $87,035 2024
National Rural Lenders Association Inc MS$442,140 Executive Director $22,320 $25,925 2024
Henderson County Economic Development Cor KY$446,098 Executive Director $86,018 $99,225 2023
Corridor 9495 Regional Chamber Of Commerce MA$446,287 President $126,777 $122,319 2023
American Concrete Pavement PA$446,818 President $163,240 $169,770 2024
Sisters In Crime Inc MD$446,955 Executive Director $113,268 $113,699 2023
Juniata County Agricultural Society PA$447,332 2nd Vice Pre $1,225 $1,274 2024
Alliance For Community Media MN$439,479 President & Ceo $162,760 $167,722 2024
Nacm North Central MN$448,422 President $24,017 $24,111 2025
Builders Association Of South Florida FL$438,863 Executive Officer $193,000 $189,084 2024
The Association Of Art Museum Curators NY$438,591 Executive Director $14,956 $14,511 2023
Visit Freeport ME$438,536 Executive Director $61,658 $66,290 2023
Carroll County Chamber Of Commerce IN$438,268 Executive Di $52,500 $59,444 2023
Chamber Of Commerce Elizabethton-carter County TN$449,356 Executive Director $51,179 $57,761 2023
Ripley Main Street Association Inc MS$449,792 President $41,031 $49,066 2023
Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau MI$450,368 Executive Director $180,180 $199,680 2023
Warren County Chamber Of Business PA$450,619 President/ceo $110,529 $114,950 2024
Central Valley Business Federation CA$451,104 Ceo $158,180 $142,446 2024
Placer Nevada County Medical Society CA$435,982 Executive Director $98,250 $88,477 2024
Sustain Socal (Fka Sustain Oc) CA$451,607 President $256,366 $230,866 2024
Liberty County Chamber Of Commerce Inc GA$451,725 Executive Director $114,328 $119,885 2024
Transportation Marketing & Sales Associa OH$451,754 Executive Dir. $100,008 $110,466 2024
Alameda Chamber Of Commerce CA$435,716 President & Ceo $147,804 $133,102 2024
Ravenna Economic Development Corp NE$435,705 Exectutive D $49,685 $55,731 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CO 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 CO 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 default46th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)49th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted48th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted42nd

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 (Michelina Paulek) 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 535 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S41), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $90,254 is reasonable (approximately the 46th 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.