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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Torch Literary Arts

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 873480372
TX · NTEE A23
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Amanda Johnston, Executive Director / CEO ($74,750) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 139 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 88th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

139 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 139 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,418 total compensation of comparable organizations → $164,677 $74,750
$6,02910th
$17,79925th
$39,827Median
$61,60875th
$78,07390th
$74,750This org · 88th
p10$6,029
p25$17,799
p50$39,827
p75$61,608
p90$78,073
$74,750

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 TX 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
Menddigap Inc NY$247,501 President & Director $5,230 $4,724 2023
Italingua Institute CA$246,445 President $78,452 $67,722 2023
Ri Slave History Medallions RI$245,607 Executive Director $51,756 $48,189 2024
Harambee Kingston Ny NY$249,748 Ceo/executive Director $75,824 $66,531 2024
American Arab Heritage Council MI$244,639 Executive Director $54,231 $55,958 2023
Center For Latino-jewish Relations TX$250,928 Secretary And Treasurer $10,500 $10,500 2023
African American Cultural Center NY$244,009 President $6,000 $5,420 2023
Burning Cedar Sovereign Kitchen Inc OK$252,133 Executive Director $63,183 $67,556 2024
Swedish Women's Educational Association International Inc FL$242,316 Chief Administrative Officer $72,960 $68,519 2023
Lincoln Crossroads Festival NE$253,480 Board President $2,200 $2,365 2023
Agritech Institute For Small VT$253,817 Secretary, T $168,494 $164,677 2024
Sri Poojalaya Cultural And Community Cen CA$256,325 Ceo $48,000 $40,246 2024
Halau Kekuaokalaaualailiahi Inc HI$256,455 President $14,996 $13,037 2024
Race Matters Slo County CA$256,465 Executive Director $30,067 $25,955 2023
The Progressive Forum TX$257,151 Director $33,000 $32,053 2024
Finnish Center Association MI$258,337 Treasurer $9,479 $9,500 2024
Relentless Academy MN$259,244 Excutive Director $57,120 $56,423 2023
American Foundation For Tibetan Cultural CA$261,527 Ceo $12,500 $10,481 2024
Fathers And Sons Together WA$261,803 Executive Director $80,600 $70,070 2024
Experimental Chinese School VA$231,403 Academics $2,750 $2,512 2025
Liberty Place Inc VI$264,018 Executive Director $52,664 $51,153 2024
Hispanic Education Inc FL$230,270 President $39,000 $35,575 2024
Hispanic Womens Organization Of Arkansas AR$227,728 Exec Director $55,000 $61,803 2023
The Royal Ethiopian Trust Inc CT$227,607 Chairman Of $16,000 $14,567 2024
Burma Research Institute MD$227,379 Executive Director $49,218 $44,680 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TX 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 TX 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 default88th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)82nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted88th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted86th

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 (Amanda Johnston) 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 139 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A23), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $74,750 is reasonable (approximately the 88th 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.