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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Record Community News Group

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 851425791
IL · NTEE A30
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Joseph Coughlin, Executive Director / CEO ($86,961) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 59 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 80th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

59 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 59 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$4,596 total compensation of comparable organizations → $296,269 $86,961
$23,15910th
$40,03125th
$57,289Median
$83,57775th
$97,75490th
$86,961This org · 80th
p10$23,159
p25$40,031
p50$57,289
p75$83,577
p90$97,754
$86,961

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 IL 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
Granite State News Collaborative NH$302,569 Executive Director $40,831 $38,349 2024
Unicorn Riot MN$303,413 Board Chair $79,712 $80,117 2024
Cicero Independiente Nfp IL$292,904 President $60,000 $61,772 2023
Lion Speaks OR$304,834 Executive Director $71,700 $67,728 2024
Action Youth Media Incorporated MD$304,953 Executive Director $83,540 $81,790 2023
5 Stone Media MN$291,829 Executive Dir. $84,932 $85,364 2024
Massachusetts Media Fund Inc MA$306,429 Director $42,800 $39,121 2024
Rightside Holdings Inc AL$306,646 President $108,750 $123,034 2023
Rattapallax Inc NY$307,210 President $43,000 $39,523 2024
Arizona Center For Investigative Reporting AZ$307,633 Executive Director And Editor $75,000 $75,535 2023
Kiowa County Ks Media Center KS$288,920 Creative Director $52,134 $57,289 2024
Southwest Washington Lulac Foundation WA$308,504 Executive Director $95,220 $86,715 2024
Northeast Access Committee VT$310,435 Director $43,373 $45,717 2023
Microbetv Inc NY$312,135 President $72,000 $66,178 2024
Just Facts Inc TX$282,819 President $133,322 $135,654 2024
Feet In 2 Worlds Inc NY$281,470 President $38,640 $35,516 2024
Asian American Media Inc CA$280,899 President $99,512 $87,404 2024
Explorer's Bible Study Association TN$317,344 Executive Di $84,677 $90,536 2024
Northeast Florida Journalism Collective Inc FL$317,553 Editor $120,450 $118,497 2023
The Jolt News Organization WA$319,113 Executive Director $59,891 $54,542 2024
Foothills Forum VA$321,622 Executive Director $51,875 $50,948 2024
The Ithaca Voice Inc NY$323,167 Executive Director $60,000 $55,149 2024
Fraser Valley Community Media Inc CO$271,734 Executive Director $43,000 $41,940 2024
Plaza Media Arts Center Inc NY$326,304 Executive Dir. $100,769 $92,621 2024
Mission Rise Inc CA$265,521 President & Ceo $66,000 $57,970 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL 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 IL 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 default80th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)83rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted81st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted80th

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 (Joseph Coughlin) 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 59 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $86,961 is reasonable (approximately the 80th 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.