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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Southwest Washington Lulac Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 880591081
WA · NTEE A30
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Michelle A Vasquez-stickley, Executive Director / CEO ($95,220) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 63 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 76th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Michelle A Vasquez-stickley — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

63 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 63 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$5,046 total compensation of comparable organizations → $325,327 $95,220
$26,04610th
$45,28325th
$64,939Median
$94,08575th
$124,25290th
$95,220This org · 76th
p10$26,046
p25$45,283
p50$64,939
p75$94,085
p90$124,252
$95,220

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 WA 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
Arizona Center For Investigative Reporting AZ$307,633 Executive Director And Editor $75,000 $82,943 2023
Rattapallax Inc NY$307,210 President $43,000 $43,400 2024
Rightside Holdings Inc AL$306,646 President $108,750 $135,101 2023
Northeast Access Committee VT$310,435 Director $43,373 $50,201 2023
Massachusetts Media Fund Inc MA$306,429 Director $42,800 $42,958 2024
Action Youth Media Incorporated MD$304,953 Executive Director $83,540 $89,812 2023
Microbetv Inc NY$312,135 President $72,000 $72,669 2024
Lion Speaks OR$304,834 Executive Director $71,700 $74,371 2024
Unicorn Riot MN$303,413 Board Chair $79,712 $87,975 2024
Granite State News Collaborative NH$302,569 Executive Director $40,831 $42,111 2024
Explorer's Bible Study Association TN$317,344 Executive Di $84,677 $99,415 2024
Northeast Florida Journalism Collective Inc FL$317,553 Editor $120,450 $130,119 2023
The Record Community News Group IL$298,634 Treasurer $86,961 $95,490 2024
The Jolt News Organization WA$319,113 Executive Director $59,891 $59,891 2024
Foothills Forum VA$321,622 Executive Director $51,875 $55,945 2024
The Ithaca Voice Inc NY$323,167 Executive Director $60,000 $60,558 2024
Cicero Independiente Nfp IL$292,904 President $60,000 $67,831 2023
5 Stone Media MN$291,829 Executive Dir. $84,932 $93,736 2024
Plaza Media Arts Center Inc NY$326,304 Executive Dir. $100,769 $101,706 2024
Kiowa County Ks Media Center KS$288,920 Creative Director $52,134 $62,908 2024
Red Media Inc NM$332,453 Program Director $44,150 $54,605 2023
Just Facts Inc TX$282,819 President $133,322 $148,959 2024
Feet In 2 Worlds Inc NY$281,470 President $38,640 $38,999 2024
Asian American Media Inc CA$280,899 President $99,512 $95,977 2024
Center For Broadcast Journalism MN$341,423 Executive Director $24,000 $27,270 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WA 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 WA 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 default76th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)83rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted78th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted76th

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 (Michelle A Vasquez-stickley) 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 63 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $95,220 is reasonable (approximately the 76th 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.