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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Pulp

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 932918456
MT · NTEE A30
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Matthew Frank, Executive Director / CEO ($80,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 53 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 83rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Matthew Frank — reported title “CO-PUBLISHER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

53 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 53 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$4,191 total compensation of comparable organizations → $270,207 $80,000
$20,03610th
$38,25025th
$56,098Median
$74,59575th
$103,20090th
$80,000This org · 83rd
p10$20,036
p25$38,250
p50$56,098
p75$74,595
p90$103,200
$80,000

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 MT 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
The Fallon Post NV$260,755 President $40,005 $38,300 2023
Lexicon Of Sustainability Inc CA$258,554 President $46,153 $36,972 2024
Double Portion Media CA$257,101 Ceo $43,600 $34,926 2024
Mission Rise Inc CA$265,521 President & Ceo $66,000 $52,870 2024
Reckoning Inc KY$253,107 President Executive Director $66,950 $68,700 2023
Fraser Valley Community Media Inc CO$271,734 Executive Director $43,000 $38,250 2024
Transcendent Media Inc CA$244,431 President $75,100 $61,937 2023
Soapbox Productions And Organizing IL$243,786 President $45,000 $42,254 2023
Asian American Media Inc CA$280,899 President $99,512 $79,716 2024
New Perspectives Media Assc SC$238,857 Executive Producer $14,500 $14,447 2023
Feet In 2 Worlds Inc NY$281,470 President $38,640 $32,392 2024
Just Facts Inc TX$282,819 President $133,322 $123,721 2024
Headfirst Arts & Media Inc CA$232,602 President & Director $205,000 $169,069 2023
Kiowa County Ks Media Center KS$288,920 Creative Director $52,134 $52,250 2024
5 Stone Media MN$291,829 Executive Dir. $84,932 $77,854 2024
Alameda Post Inc CA$227,628 President $15,210 $12,184 2024
Cicero Independiente Nfp IL$292,904 President $60,000 $56,338 2023
Brown Girls Doc Mafia Inc NY$222,011 Founder And Co-executive Director $125,000 $107,881 2023
The Record Community News Group IL$298,634 Treasurer $86,961 $79,311 2024
Ad Relief Of Greater Los Angeles CA$219,800 Exec. Director $62,500 $51,545 2023
Granite State News Collaborative NH$302,569 Executive Director $40,831 $34,976 2024
Unicorn Riot MN$303,413 Board Chair $79,712 $73,069 2024
Lion Speaks OR$304,834 Executive Director $71,700 $61,770 2024
Action Youth Media Incorporated MD$304,953 Executive Director $83,540 $74,595 2023
Massachusetts Media Fund Inc MA$306,429 Director $42,800 $35,680 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MT 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 MT 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 default83rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)74th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted85th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted81st

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 (Matthew Frank) 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 53 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $80,000 is reasonable (approximately the 83rd 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.