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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Persuasion Institute

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 853357582
DC · NTEE B05
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Yascha Mounk, Executive Director / CEO ($119,634) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 24 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: Yascha Mounk — reported title “President”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

24 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 24 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$8,523 total compensation of comparable organizations → $297,265 $119,634
$17,24010th
$57,19525th
$93,119Median
$166,48375th
$200,86190th
$119,634This org · 58th
p10$17,240
p25$57,195
p50$93,119
p75$166,483
p90$200,861
$119,634

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 DC 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
Great Lakes Center For Education MI$391,230 Executive Dir. $76,000 $86,829 2024
Washington Coalition For Police WA$385,521 Interim Executive Director $96,635 $95,764 2024
Wa Charters Action WA$400,024 Co-president, External Affairs $71,216 $72,659 2023
Yorktown Institute MD$378,691 President $8,000 $8,523 2023
Plus Foundation MN$372,652 Ceo, Plus $31,170 $34,091 2024
National Athletic Equipment OH$362,223 Executive Director $73,494 $86,160 2024
Vdare Foundation WV$435,608 President $50,833 $60,921 2024
Wmc Litigation Center Inc WI$448,596 Executive Director $169,546 $195,991 2024
Hildreth Institute Inc MA$451,001 Managing Director $160,000 $159,144 2024
Coalition For Career Development Center VA$460,380 Execu Director $210,000 $231,063 2023
Broad And Liberty Inc PA$315,397 Executive Director $130,538 $148,345 2023
Network For Public Education Inc NY$314,316 Executive Director $90,455 $90,473 2024
Colorado Association For Gifted And CO$312,955 Executive Di $43,358 $46,018 2024
Minnesota Parent Union MN$310,192 Executive Director $180,125 $202,824 2023
North American Case Research Association Inc ID$308,618 Treasurer $10,837 $12,760 2024
Farm And City TX$478,727 Executive Dir. $73,784 $84,108 2023
Research Bridge Partners Inc TX$298,297 President & Ceo $260,778 $297,265 2023
Naiop Research Foundation Inc VA$499,953 Ex-officio (Thru 6/2022) $178,389 $196,281 2023
Ohio Mayors Alliance Foundation OH$503,432 Executive Director $112,318 $131,676 2024
Achieve Brown County Inc WI$533,948 Executive Director $104,546 $120,853 2024
The Higher Education Partnership AL$545,384 Executive Director $19,941 $23,845 2024
Great Lakes Education Foundation MI$550,100 Treasurer $12,250 $14,409 2023
Rockland 21st Century Collaborative NY$564,116 Executive Director $188,462 $188,499 2024
The Arkansas Stem Coalition AR$572,294 Executive Director $82,831 $106,100 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to DC 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 DC 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)67th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted67th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted46th

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 (Yascha Mounk) 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 24 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B05), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $119,634 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.