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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Federation Of Shade Tree Commissions

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 221633157
NJ · NTEE C033
FY ending 2024-09-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Richard Wolowicz, Executive Director / CEO ($16,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 590 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 12th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Richard Wolowicz — reported title “Exec Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

590 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 590 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$578 total compensation of comparable organizations → $462,508 $16,000
$13,56010th
$36,90625th
$64,169Median
$87,04375th
$118,91790th
$16,000This org · 12th
p10$13,560
p25$36,906
p50$64,169
p75$87,043
p90$118,917
$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 NJ 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
Ecological Rights Foundation CA$251,438 Executive Dir. $15,000 $14,507 2024
Texas Foundation For Innovative TX$251,442 Key Employee $180,000 $201,667 2024
Pudding River Watershed Council OR$250,832 Co-executive Director $62,500 $66,927 2023
Smithfield Irrigation Company UT$250,811 Trustee $2,000 $2,293 2024
We Are Neutral Inc FL$251,714 Executive Director $62,400 $65,656 2024
Hawaii Seafood Council HI$251,749 Executive Director $51,000 $51,141 2024
Vermonters For A Clean Environment Inc VT$252,053 Executive Dir. $50,000 $56,366 2024
Nevada Preservation Foundation NV$250,283 President $12,375 $13,893 2024
The Hardy Plant Society Of Oregon OR$250,234 Executive Director $26,185 $27,235 2024
Justme For Justus ME$252,348 Director $49,244 $55,228 2024
Permaculture Planet Us Ngo Foundation WY$250,000 Executive Director $75,000 $92,607 2023
Colibri Catalyst Inc DC$250,000 Board Chair, Ceo - Gdi $37,814 $37,166 2024
Gari Group Inc NY$250,000 President $9,900 $10,315 2023
Passive House New England Inc MA$249,958 Executive Director $127,975 $128,803 2024
Triple Bottom Line Institute Incorporated FL$252,750 President $78,517 $85,054 2023
Wisconsin Association Of Lakes Inc WI$249,630 Executive Director $71,436 $86,027 2023
Innovators Educational Foundation MO$249,404 President $97,793 $119,436 2023
River Keepers ND$249,256 Exec. Dir. $96,768 $118,939 2024
Friends Of Waipahu Cultural Garden Park HI$253,270 Executive Director $22,917 $23,659 2023
Willowbrook Economic Development IL$249,001 Executive Dir. $92,520 $99,249 2025
Ohio River Way OH$248,751 Executive Dir. $38,262 $45,389 2024
Caldesal CA$253,796 Executive Di $100,837 $97,524 2024
Teens Take On Climate Inc WI$253,820 President $135,499 $158,495 2024
People And Pollinators Action CO$253,840 Executive Di $63,585 $68,288 2024
Growing Communities Inc CA$253,966 President $147,531 $146,898 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NJ 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 NJ 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 default12th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)12th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted14th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted11th

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 (Richard Wolowicz) 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 590 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (C), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $16,000 is reasonable (approximately the 12th 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.