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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Lite Initiatives

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 010745653
CA · NTEE C35
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Solomon Loren Soltes, Executive Director / CEO ($29,262) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 21 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 5th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Solomon Loren Soltes — reported title “General Manager”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

21 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 21 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$17,930 total compensation of comparable organizations → $208,519 $29,262
$33,18710th
$36,11725th
$82,132Median
$97,72175th
$125,57690th
$29,262This org · 5th
p10$33,187
p25$36,117
p50$82,132
p75$97,721
p90$125,576
$29,262

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
Innovators Educational Foundation MO$249,404 President $97,793 $123,494 2023
Hyperbaric Vermont Inc VT$233,648 President $30,372 $35,403 2024
Texas Foundation For Innovative TX$251,442 Key Employee $180,000 $208,519 2024
Wind For Schools Llc Dba Repowering Schools VA$221,343 Executive Director $40,915 $47,102 2023
New Power Tour Inc MI$265,115 Managing Director $15,000 $17,930 2024
Greater Sacramento Regional CA$266,443 Executive Dir. $36,117 $36,117 2024
One Earth Collective IL$281,886 Executive Dir. $79,000 $89,943 2024
Energy Programs Consortium DC$283,320 Executive Director $51,000 $53,359 2023
Missourians For A Balanced Energy Future MO$188,000 Executive Director $70,000 $85,861 2024
Tosv Inc CA$186,354 President $30,067 $30,067 2024
E-tech International NM$299,417 President/ex $27,950 $34,814 2024
Leaders For Clean Air UT$306,178 Executive Dir. $28,000 $33,187 2024
Louisiana Clean Energy Fund LA$312,655 President/director $78,164 $102,619 2023
Blueenergy OR$316,956 Executive Director, Director, Secretary $45,000 $49,825 2023
Net-negative Co2 Baseload Power Inc WA$320,000 Ceo And President (Resigned 1/1/25 After Tax Year) $94,250 $97,721 2024
Clean Air Institute DC$322,593 Director $78,500 $82,132 2023
Carbon Offsets To Alleviate Poverty CA$323,251 Ceo $59,583 $61,343 2023
Wyoming Petroleum Foundation WY$327,364 Ex-officio Member $76,831 $95,277 2024
Energy Action Network Inc VT$334,745 Executive Director $141,329 $164,738 2024
Tulsa Bike Share Inc OK$338,763 Executive Dir. $73,620 $96,654 2023
Frack Action Fund Inc NY$354,000 Executive Director $120,000 $125,576 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 default5th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)14th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted14th
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 (Solomon Loren Soltes) 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 21 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C35), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $29,262 is reasonable (approximately the 5th 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.