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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Automotive Industry Apprenticeship Trust

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 946325200
CA · NTEE J22I
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Darren Rees, Executive Director / CEO ($113,057) 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 91st percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Darren Rees — reported title “ADMINISTRATOR”, 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

$579 total compensation of comparable organizations → $164,485 $113,057
$16,45910th
$32,33625th
$59,246Median
$82,14775th
$104,20090th
$113,057This org · 91st
p10$16,459
p25$32,336
p50$59,246
p75$82,147
p90$104,200
$113,057

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
Eldreds Nursery Foundation TX$230,855 Board Member $500 $579 2023
Baltimore Green Justice Workers MD$236,775 President $67,608 $71,098 2024
International Association Of Heat & 53 A LA$227,422 Training Director $82,417 $102,082 2024
Insulators Local 37 Joint Apprenticeship IN$238,754 Director/administrator $79,709 $97,345 2023
Auto Repair Transformation WA$223,137 Executive Dir. $50,834 $51,195 2024
West Central Ohio Manufacturing OH$244,260 Managing Director $56,700 $67,551 2024
Ri Hospitality Education Foundation RI$219,579 President/ceo $21,536 $23,915 2023
Evvaylois Foundation TX$219,359 Ceo $24,605 $28,503 2023
Fmha Empowerment Institute Llc NC$217,699 Secretary $9,469 $11,005 2024
Friends Of The Gallatin National Forest MT$249,311 Treasurer $9,913 $12,020 2024
Bridge Of Tiftarea Inc GA$250,868 Director $34,327 $38,824 2024
Ibew Local 17 Joint 6-17-b Training MI$213,549 Trustee $60,174 $71,928 2023
Seattle Area Roofers WA$256,089 Trustee $24,032 $24,203 2024
Milestone Of Tn TN$208,853 President $64,000 $75,672 2024
Daytona Beach Electrical Joint Apprenticeship FL$208,382 Training Director / Ex. Direct $43,618 $47,453 2023
Woodwork Career Alliance Of North America VA$206,820 Scott Nelson President $48,575 $52,757 2024
Anders & Anders Foundation CA$204,545 Executive Director $37,175 $35,178 2025
Plasterers & Cement Masons OH$262,365 Instructor $55,037 $67,507 2023
Internat'l Union Of Operating Engineers NY$264,242 Administrator $134,575 $140,828 2023
Jobs For Americas Graduates Of Pennsylvania PA$200,009 Director $89,038 $97,303 2025
Tools & Tiaras Inc NY$266,644 President $47,200 $49,393 2023
Jt Mitchell Pre-apprentice Academy CA$268,185 Director $23,600 $22,923 2024
Apprentice Educational Fund NY$270,621 Union Trustee/training Dir $50,624 $51,457 2024
Proof Programs TN$272,200 President $23,750 $28,082 2024
Montana Operating Engineers & MT$273,249 Director $58,094 $70,440 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 default91st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)92nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted79th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted77th

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 (Darren Rees) 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 (J22), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $113,057 is reasonable (approximately the 91st 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.