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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Spark Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 841916027
KS · NTEE B99
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sarah Siders, Executive Director / CEO ($64,231) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 188 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: Sarah Siders — reported title “Executive Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

188 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 188 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$170 total compensation of comparable organizations → $250,248 $64,231
$10,01910th
$20,26325th
$39,575Median
$60,19075th
$80,41390th
$64,231This org · 77th
p10$10,019
p25$20,263
p50$39,575
p75$60,190
p90$80,413
$64,231

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
Arts Align All Inc WI$164,616 President $40,838 $38,345 2024
Epoch Public Media Seattle WA$164,046 President $4,779 $3,847 2024
Delaware Careplan Inc DE$166,166 Executive Director $15,149 $13,336 2024
Sc Ag-in-the-classroom Fund SC$167,533 President $72,480 $67,984 2024
Fem Empowerment Movement CA$168,811 Secretary $104,168 $80,871 2024
Lohan School Of Shaolin NV$169,986 Corporate Officer $41,875 $38,853 2023
Solvang School Education Foundation CA$170,182 President & Ceo $18,000 $13,614 2025
Education In Dance And NJ$170,931 Vice President $191,743 $153,919 2024
The Nourishment Projects Nfp IL$158,876 President $90,000 $81,901 2023
Marriage And Relationship Education Center Inc MD$171,221 Executive Director $47,508 $41,113 2023
Research Support Fund MA$171,417 Board President $37,776 $30,520 2024
Creative Adventuresinc MD$158,252 Creative Director $70,000 $58,839 2024
Satvatove Institute Inc FL$158,205 Executive Di $83,160 $72,313 2023
Microfinance Opportunities MA$156,708 Executive Director $1,000 $832 2023
The Home Team - Miami Inc FL$173,584 Director $79,425 $67,083 2024
Independent Television Festival Inc MN$174,027 Ceo/executive Director $16,667 $15,244 2023
Challenger Learning Center Of NY$155,858 Executive Di $25,090 $20,384 2024
Los Medanos College Foundation CA$174,647 Director - Lmc President (July -Dec) $25,994 $20,777 2023
Jewels Academy IA$174,974 President $39,582 $38,966 2024
Tennessee Advocates For Planned TN$175,276 Executive Di $95,771 $90,509 2024
Church Leadership Development TX$175,460 President $76,920 $71,222 2023
The Gardens Edge Inc NM$154,271 Executive Dir. $14,400 $14,336 2023
Friends Of Transit AZ$176,478 Executive Director $90,000 $77,820 2024
Lectica Inc Fka Dev Test Svs MA$176,554 Pres, Treas, Clerk $51,193 $42,582 2023
Unity Foundation ME$177,085 Ceo/chairman $86,544 $80,216 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 default77th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)70th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted82nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted71st

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 (Sarah Siders) 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 188 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $64,231 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.