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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Ideas Institute

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 844206302
MO · NTEE B99
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Bret Toth, Executive Director / CEO ($106,426) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 422 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 88th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Bret Toth — reported title “VICE PRESIDENT”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

422 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 422 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$119 total compensation of comparable organizations → $301,939 $106,426
$14,21210th
$35,79225th
$58,986Median
$83,29075th
$109,98690th
$106,426This org · 88th
p10$14,212
p25$35,792
p50$58,986
p75$83,290
p90$109,986
$106,426

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 MO 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
Living Justice Press MN$422,189 Executive Director $93,000 $86,762 2024
The Restorative Center Inc NY$422,887 Excutive Director $130,769 $111,567 2024
Washington Association Of Land Trusts WA$421,370 Executive Director $103,968 $87,885 2024
Eastern Connecticut Training School CT$421,000 President $13,100 $11,298 2025
Hamiltonian Artists Inc DC$424,506 Executive Director $107,870 $89,372 2024
Pipe Creek Christian School TX$419,756 Trustee $36,077 $33,194 2025
Avasant Foundation CA$419,508 Exec Director $4,049 $3,301 2024
Creative Strategies For Change CO$425,184 Executive Dir. $82,181 $76,598 2023
Sati Center For Buddist Studies CA$425,533 Treasurer $36,000 $28,593 2025
Global Ties Alabama AL$425,594 Executive Director $68,800 $72,249 2023
Solid Waste Association Of North America NY$418,738 Director $18,120 $15,916 2023
Roots Action Education Fund CA$418,199 National Director $98,028 $79,920 2024
Wisconsin Deca Center Inc WI$427,921 Executive Director $18,591 $18,873 2023
Holley Family Village Inc MI$415,884 President $36,000 $35,083 2024
Low-level Radioactive Waste Forum DC$415,727 Executive Director $226,226 $187,433 2024
Willie L Brown Jr Institute On CA$429,244 Executive Director $115,566 $94,218 2024
Project Reap MA$429,301 Executive Dir. $159,433 $139,263 2023
Everyday Canvassing MD$414,902 Co-executive Director $75,950 $67,040 2024
Indian Training & Education Center UT$414,552 Board Member/director $77,049 $72,535 2025
Indiana University Research & Technology IN$414,038 Executive Director $261,532 $268,089 2023
Me And My Two Friends Foundation Inc GA$413,008 Director $20,504 $19,465 2024
Two Bikes TN$432,119 Director $36,699 $36,421 2024
Jackson Heart Foundation MS$432,432 Executive Director $42,500 $46,010 2023
Sedalia Heritage Foundation Inc MO$411,502 Exec Dir / L $13,597 $13,597 2024
Moonlighter Fablab Inc FL$411,341 President $79,715 $70,704 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MO 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 MO 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 default88th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)85th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted79th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted82nd

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 (Bret Toth) 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 422 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $106,426 is reasonable (approximately the 88th 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.