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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Shock The System Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 934206053
CA · NTEE R01
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Saul D Costa, Executive Director / CEO ($18,600) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 56 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 9th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Saul D Costa — reported title “CEO, CFO, SECRETARY”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

56 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 56 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$653 total compensation of comparable organizations → $237,144 $18,600
$24,90710th
$50,63025th
$88,862Median
$124,24875th
$151,49390th
$18,600This org · 9th
p10$24,907
p25$50,630
p50$88,862
p75$124,248
p90$151,493
$18,600

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
Virginia Learns VA$454,700 President An $205,997 $237,144 2023
Farm-to-consumer Legal Defense Fund VA$419,440 Executive Director $81,314 $93,609 2023
Street Democracy MI$419,050 President $32,200 $38,490 2024
Eternal Vigilance Action Inc GA$472,017 Ceo Director Key Employee $121,200 $145,297 2023
Progressnow New Mexico NM$411,737 Executive Di $8,177 $10,486 2023
Womens Diversity Network Inc NY$411,630 Founder/board Member $83,987 $90,486 2023
Death Penalty Action NY$478,459 Executive Director $87,800 $91,880 2024
Voices For A Safer Tennessee Coalit TN$480,086 Executive Di $35,754 $43,523 2024
North Carolina For The People NC$481,336 Executive Director And Board Chair $104,960 $125,595 2024
Race Forward Action Inc NY$408,044 Secretary $35,568 $37,221 2024
Youth Outright Wnc Inc NC$489,293 Coexecutive $58,293 $69,753 2024
Eries Black Wall Street PA$390,139 President Director $45,374 $53,949 2023
The Philonise And Keeta TX$500,000 Executive Dir. $98,000 $113,527 2024
Clean Slate Now Inc FL$500,000 Director & Ceo $33,995 $36,984 2024
Show Me Integrity Education Fund MO$500,140 Chief Executive Officer $92,908 $117,325 2023
Inclusion Nextwork Inc DC$387,840 Executive Director $92,808 $94,316 2024
True Texas Project Inc TX$506,308 Ceo $37,500 $43,441 2024
Denver Metro Fair Housing Center CO$507,805 Executive Di $76,480 $84,927 2024
Progress Mo MO$380,637 Executive Di $55,254 $67,773 2024
Abortion Survivors Network Inc MO$379,252 Ceo Non-voting Board Member $77,000 $94,447 2024
New York Jewish Agenda Inc NY$375,561 Executive Director $137,680 $144,078 2024
Just Transition Nwi Inc IN$519,227 Executive Director $58,391 $71,310 2024
Change Illinois IL$369,571 Executive Director $127,880 $141,842 2025
Miami Dade Transit Alliance Inc FL$522,360 Executive Director $90,000 $97,913 2024
Southwest Washington Equity Coalition WA$522,488 Executive Director $88,692 $91,959 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 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 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 default9th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)11th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted18th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted5th

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 (Saul D Costa) 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 56 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (R01), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $18,600 is reasonable (approximately the 9th 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.