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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Paleocultural Research Group

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 860840634
CO · NTEE U20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Mark Mitchell, Executive Director / CEO ($54,975) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 16 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 56th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

16 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 16 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$395 total compensation of comparable organizations → $131,622 $54,975
$13,29210th
$20,17025th
$54,002Median
$71,55475th
$112,04590th
$54,975This org · 56th
p10$13,292
p25$20,170
p50$54,002
p75$71,554
p90$112,045
$54,975

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 CO 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
South Jersey Innovation Center NJ$318,444 Executive Director $21,000 $20,131 2023
Landweb Inc VT$315,096 Secretary/exec Director $55,181 $59,634 2023
International Society For CA$332,093 Cfo/secretary $127,000 $114,368 2024
Solving For Science CA$338,901 Highest Compensated Employee $121,841 $109,722 2024
Consumer Brands Association Foundation VA$281,213 Acting Ed $66,492 $66,954 2024
Kacyra Family Foundation CA$273,688 Director $26,407 $23,780 2024
Virginia Academy Of Science VA$372,146 Executive Officer $15,343 $15,906 2023
Bible Archeology Search And Exploration Foundation CO$263,551 President $20,183 $20,183 2024
Collaborative Earth Institute CA$261,533 Executive Dir. $23,500 $21,787 2023
Decatur Makers Inc GA$384,484 Executive Director $83,550 $85,352 2025
The Soul Phone Foundation OH$251,286 President, Director $48,000 $54,586 2023
City Kid Science Inc NY$390,135 President $70,600 $66,532 2024
Texas Organic Farmers TX$393,353 Director $368 $395 2023
Fresh Pond Research Institute Inc MA$234,990 President $57,000 $53,418 2024
Connecticut Academy Of CT$412,679 Executive Di $130,745 $131,622 2023
Center For Scientific Integrity Inc NY$429,108 Secretary $11,330 $10,677 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CO 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 CO 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 default56th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)50th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted63rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted50th

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 (Mark Mitchell) 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 16 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (U20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $54,975 is reasonable (approximately the 56th 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.