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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Kanu Hawaii

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 205552831
HI · NTEE C27
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Keone Kealoha, Executive Director / CEO ($64,996) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 17 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 76th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Keone Kealoha — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

17 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 17 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$5,885 total compensation of comparable organizations → $196,557 $64,996
$12,59410th
$22,40425th
$39,092Median
$62,32375th
$104,10390th
$64,996This org · 76th
p10$12,594
p25$22,404
p50$39,092
p75$62,323
p90$104,103
$64,996

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 HI 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
Cwmu Association UT$259,051 Secretary $5,000 $5,885 2023
Bella Vista Recycling Foundation AR$261,197 Director $43,400 $56,098 2023
The Idea Store Creative Reuse Center IL$272,176 Manager $33,663 $38,056 2023
Bowling Green Recycling Center Inc OH$234,872 Chairman $11,045 $13,066 2024
The Recyclery Collective IL$227,204 Director / Programming Coordinator $20,403 $22,404 2024
Maine Resource Recovery Association ME$223,731 Executive Di $54,674 $59,573 2025
Methow Recycles WA$291,962 Executive Director $29,913 $29,913 2024
Keuka Lake Association NY$218,784 Secretary $19,703 $19,886 2024
People For Urban Progress Inc IN$215,173 Executive Director $52,911 $62,323 2024
Habits Of Waste CA$307,102 Founder, Director, President, Ed $133,943 $129,185 2024
Regenerative Education Centers Inc HI$203,725 Pres/executi $39,800 $39,800 2024
Bk Rot Inc NY$319,398 Executive Director $82,810 $81,425 2025
Deidox Films Inc CA$194,842 Chair/executive Director $88,000 $87,381 2023
Cement Kiln Recycling Coalition VA$322,206 Executive Director $177,030 $196,557 2023
Reuse It Center Inc KS$365,928 Director $31,468 $39,092 2023
Recreative Denver CO$372,240 Executive Director $10,780 $11,886 2023
Wachusett Earthday Incorporated MA$372,421 Executive Di $34,616 $34,744 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to HI 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 HI 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 default76th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)76th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted76th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted76th

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 (Keone Kealoha) 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 17 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C27), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $64,996 is reasonable (approximately the 76th 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.