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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Aqume Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 872397576
MI · NTEE T30
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Ciarra C Adkins, Executive Director / CEO ($117,642) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 220 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 94th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Ciarra C Adkins — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

220 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 220 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$750 total compensation of comparable organizations → $294,876 $117,642
$12,83110th
$24,89725th
$48,634Median
$76,50075th
$107,62090th
$117,642This org · 94th
p10$12,831
p25$24,897
p50$48,634
p75$76,500
p90$107,620
$117,642

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 MI 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
Breast Reconstruction Org Inc NY$352,975 Executive Director $27,875 $24,404 2024
The Park People Of Milwaukee County Inc WI$355,037 Executive Dir. $37,188 $37,627 2024
Punks With Lunch Lansing MI$351,688 Executive Director $51,600 $51,600 2024
National School Climate Center NY$355,465 Co-executive Director $39,570 $34,642 2024
Hunt Of A Lifetime PA$357,048 President & $4,327 $4,181 2024
Jarrard Burch Foundationinc GA$357,896 Executive Di $38,812 $38,925 2023
Water From Wine WA$358,236 Executive Director $6,458 $5,767 2023
The School Foundation Inc SC$348,704 Executive Director $76,331 $77,150 2024
Gay For Good CA$348,240 Executive Director $88,535 $72,158 2025
Community Foundation Of The Klamath OR$347,880 Executive Director $35,000 $31,490 2024
Down Syndrome Society Of Wichita Inc KS$359,239 Executive Director $70,760 $74,062 2024
Freedom From Hunger DC$359,267 Sub. Officer/ceo Grameen Fndt Usa $3,321 $2,907 2023
United Way Of Oxford & MS$347,526 Executive Di $77,330 $81,291 2025
Residential Properties Inc MD$360,000 President $12,277 $11,449 2023
South Wood County Recreation Center Inc WI$346,935 Treasurer $1,000 $1,012 2024
Foundation For Community Empowerment TX$360,485 Treasurer $31,000 $30,043 2024
School Of Choice Education Organization IL$345,648 Executive Director $125,000 $119,060 2024
Kurt Warner First Things MO$343,174 Executive Director/secreta $69,914 $71,742 2024
Hine Corporation ME$365,989 President $69,000 $66,939 2024
Explore Ministries Inc AR$340,878 Executive Director $256,058 $287,088 2023
Youth Business Alliance Inc CA$366,781 Executive Dir. $102,092 $85,409 2024
Josephine County Foundation OR$368,624 Treasurer & Ed $3,000 $2,699 2024
Moebius Syndrome Foundation CO$338,157 Executive Director $90,018 $83,626 2024
Acorn Global Advance SC$370,432 Secretary $79,800 $83,039 2023
Georgia National Guard Family GA$370,846 Treasurer $48,360 $48,501 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MI 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 MI 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 default94th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)91st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted95th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted74th

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 (Ciarra C Adkins) 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 220 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (T30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $117,642 is reasonable (approximately the 94th 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.