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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Royal Ethiopian Trust Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 934041676
CT · NTEE A23
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Ermias Sahle Selassie, Executive Director / CEO ($16,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 124 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: Ermias Sahle Selassie — reported title “CHAIRMAN OF”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

124 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 124 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,558 total compensation of comparable organizations → $245,292 $16,000
$5,47410th
$13,78925th
$39,382Median
$67,10375th
$86,54390th
$16,000This org · 27th
p10$5,474
p25$13,789
p50$39,382
p75$67,103
p90$86,543
$16,000

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 CT 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
Hispanic Womens Organization Of Arkansas AR$227,728 Exec Director $55,000 $67,885 2023
Burma Research Institute MD$227,379 Executive Director $49,218 $49,076 2024
Hispanic Education Inc FL$230,270 President $39,000 $39,075 2024
Niagara Celtic Heritage Society Inc NY$224,921 Festival Dir $5,700 $5,493 2024
Experimental Chinese School VA$231,403 Academics $2,750 $2,759 2025
Center For Cultural Vibrancy VA$223,629 Executive Di $110,586 $113,881 2024
Just Communities Of Arkansas Inc AR$222,844 Ceo $101,319 $121,466 2024
United Chinese Learning Center CA$221,680 Principal $51,480 $47,411 2024
Contra Costa Chinese School CA$221,311 President $25,000 $23,024 2024
Kooyrigs Inc MI$220,726 Executive Director $22,540 $25,546 2023
Creative China Center Inc NY$220,119 President $12,000 $11,565 2024
Hispanic Women Of Springfield IL$219,920 Vice-president $33,930 $35,577 2024
Seattle Out And Proud Inc WA$219,787 Executive Director $145,525 $138,959 2024
Chinese Center On Long Island Inc NY$219,451 Director $6,532 $6,295 2024
Aloha Kuamo'o' Aina HI$219,335 Admin Assistant $37,958 $37,316 2023
The Avenue Blackbox Inc NY$218,958 Ceo $64,267 $63,767 2023
Three Aksha PA$217,443 Artistic Director $60,000 $63,815 2024
Sicc Inc NY$216,722 Executive Director $43,500 $41,923 2024
Russian Educational Center OH$215,205 Member, Board Of Directors $27,000 $31,401 2023
Ariel Rivka Dance Inc NJ$215,092 Managing Direct $60,000 $57,135 2024
Independent Jewish World Cinema Inc CA$214,196 Secretary $47,500 $43,746 2024
Alliance Francaise De La Riviera Californienne Inc CA$213,405 Executive Director $30,901 $27,725 2025
Swedish Women's Educational Association International Inc FL$242,316 Chief Administrative Officer $72,960 $75,260 2023
Movimiento Afrolatino Seattle WA$212,357 Executive Director $81,644 $77,960 2024
More Than A Single Story Inc MN$211,860 Artistic/executive Director $30,000 $32,550 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CT 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 CT 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)27th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted27th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted27th

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 (Ermias Sahle Selassie) 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 124 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A23), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $16,000 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.