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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Strategem Learning

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 874045954
CA · NTEE B90
FY ending 2023-07-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Benjamin Fagan, Executive Director / CEO ($20,769) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 108 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 27th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Benjamin Fagan — reported title “President/Exec. Dir.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

108 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 108 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$596 total compensation of comparable organizations → $260,018 $20,769
$7,67810th
$17,03625th
$37,481Median
$68,93675th
$90,16590th
$20,769This org · 27th
p10$7,678
p25$17,036
p50$37,481
p75$68,936
p90$90,165
$20,769

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 CA 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
Pivotal Point Enterprises Inc FL$131,964 Executive Director $20,775 $21,953 2024
Pathway Community Foundation Corporation NC$131,411 President And Director $45,000 $52,302 2024
Science Play-space Initiative Spi OH$131,287 Executive Di $46,800 $55,757 2024
Stamford Polish Saturday School Inc CT$134,652 Director Of Spss $9,781 $10,315 2024
Montezuma Schools Inc AZ$134,683 Manager $21,000 $23,389 2023
Germination Project PA$135,253 Executive Di $96,000 $110,868 2023
Washington Home Builders Foundation WA$128,271 Executive Vice President $28,993 $29,198 2024
Big Family Of Michigan Inc MI$127,352 President $2,458 $2,780 2025
The Gardiner Foundation NY$139,362 President $4,000 $4,066 2024
Taylor Belle Foundation Inc FL$124,183 Director $9,395 $9,927 2024
Rural Alliance WA$139,800 President $82,202 $82,785 2024
Mal 46 CA$123,400 President $70,000 $67,992 2024
Plantpure Communities Inc NC$141,520 President $40,000 $46,490 2024
The Audacia Foundation Inc NY$141,693 President An $248,472 $260,018 2023
Life Bridge Inc NH$121,709 Executive Director $65,580 $70,126 2023
Musicians For Education Inc CA$143,416 President/sec $48,555 $47,162 2024
Mine Hill Educational Foundation NJ$143,522 President $4,775 $4,672 2025
Tri It For Life NC$119,808 Executive Director $23,450 $27,255 2024
Healing Vine Harbor Inc NC$119,646 Executive Director $53,192 $63,650 2023
Monterey County Office Of Education CA$146,573 Cfo $60,897 $60,897 2023
The Blink Foundation Inc FL$147,192 President $63,000 $68,539 2023
The Dental Health Theatre Inc MO$148,037 Co-executive Director $42,750 $52,436 2023
The Machon Inc MD$148,077 Director $22,566 $23,732 2024
New Leaf Collaborative CA$148,557 Executive Director $12,300 $12,300 2023
American Pillars Education Fd TN$114,610 Vice President $69,093 $81,694 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA 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 CA 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 default27th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)31st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted26th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted22nd

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 (Benjamin Fagan) 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 108 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B90), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $20,769 is reasonable (approximately the 27th 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.