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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Lion Speaks

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 851637060
OR · NTEE A30
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Ime N Etuk, Executive Director / CEO ($71,700) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 62 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 58th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Ime N Etuk — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

62 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 62 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$4,865 total compensation of comparable organizations → $313,644 $71,700
$25,06610th
$43,28625th
$61,988Median
$91,61175th
$122,50790th
$71,700This org · 58th
p10$25,066
p25$43,286
p50$61,988
p75$91,611
p90$122,507
$71,700

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 OR 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
Action Youth Media Incorporated MD$304,953 Executive Director $83,540 $86,587 2023
Unicorn Riot MN$303,413 Board Chair $79,712 $84,816 2024
Massachusetts Media Fund Inc MA$306,429 Director $42,800 $41,416 2024
Rightside Holdings Inc AL$306,646 President $108,750 $130,249 2023
Granite State News Collaborative NH$302,569 Executive Director $40,831 $40,598 2024
Rattapallax Inc NY$307,210 President $43,000 $41,841 2024
Arizona Center For Investigative Reporting AZ$307,633 Executive Director And Editor $75,000 $79,964 2023
Southwest Washington Lulac Foundation WA$308,504 Executive Director $95,220 $91,800 2024
Northeast Access Committee VT$310,435 Director $43,373 $48,398 2023
The Record Community News Group IL$298,634 Treasurer $86,961 $92,061 2024
Microbetv Inc NY$312,135 President $72,000 $70,059 2024
Cicero Independiente Nfp IL$292,904 President $60,000 $65,395 2023
Explorer's Bible Study Association TN$317,344 Executive Di $84,677 $95,845 2024
Northeast Florida Journalism Collective Inc FL$317,553 Editor $120,450 $125,446 2023
5 Stone Media MN$291,829 Executive Dir. $84,932 $90,370 2024
The Jolt News Organization WA$319,113 Executive Director $59,891 $57,740 2024
Kiowa County Ks Media Center KS$288,920 Creative Director $52,134 $60,649 2024
Foothills Forum VA$321,622 Executive Director $51,875 $53,936 2024
The Ithaca Voice Inc NY$323,167 Executive Director $60,000 $58,383 2024
Plaza Media Arts Center Inc NY$326,304 Executive Dir. $100,769 $98,053 2024
Just Facts Inc TX$282,819 President $133,322 $143,609 2024
Feet In 2 Worlds Inc NY$281,470 President $38,640 $37,599 2024
Asian American Media Inc CA$280,899 President $99,512 $92,530 2024
Red Media Inc NM$332,453 Program Director $44,150 $52,644 2023
Fraser Valley Community Media Inc CO$271,734 Executive Director $43,000 $44,399 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to OR 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 OR 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 default58th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)58th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted60th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted58th

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 (Ime N Etuk) 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 62 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $71,700 is reasonable (approximately the 58th 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.