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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Cornucopia Project Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 261460809
NH · NTEE K20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Lauren Judd, Executive Director / CEO ($70,975) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 69 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 64th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

69 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 69 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$56 total compensation of comparable organizations → $171,634 $70,975
$2,79310th
$17,62925th
$56,679Median
$83,89875th
$113,75690th
$70,975This org · 64th
p10$2,793
p25$17,629
p50$56,679
p75$83,898
p90$113,756
$70,975

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 NH 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
Pacific Nw Csa Coalition OR$371,698 Executive Director $45,626 $44,571 2024
Houston County Agricultural Society MN$363,282 President $500 $506 2025
City Fruit WA$376,409 Executive Director (Until 10/2024) $61,873 $58,272 2024
Nordic Mountain Water Inc UT$380,172 President $825 $914 2023
Grow Portland OR$381,184 Executive Di $38,834 $37,936 2024
Sheep And Goat Validation Of Texas TX$356,980 Director $2,750 $2,979 2023
Jk Community Farm VA$382,989 Executive Dir. $84,000 $85,317 2024
Pine County Agricultural Society MN$383,025 President $1,200 $1,216 2025
Yield Lab Institute MO$353,283 Coo $93,624 $104,311 2024
Whiting Conservation Cooperative WA$351,185 Executive Director $165,495 $155,862 2024
East Farm Commercial Fisheries RI$388,202 Executive Director $102,500 $106,442 2023
The Potato Leadership Education And DC$350,288 President $52,069 $48,065 2024
Udff Inc FL$350,281 Executive Di $133,622 $132,045 2024
Harvest Seed Project Foundation TX$390,355 Secretary $11,548 $12,152 2024
Livingston County Farm Bureau IL$390,754 Manager $99,955 $100,706 2025
Associated Water Users Of The Uinta And UT$394,923 River Commissioner $73,000 $78,594 2024
National Grape Research Alliance Inc CA$343,146 President $183,313 $166,511 2024
Altaseads Conservancy Dba CA$398,003 President $41,667 $37,848 2024
San Joaquin Valley Quality CA$399,154 Executive V.p. $15,600 $14,589 2023
Juneberry Ridge Educational Foundation NC$335,998 Education Dir. $76,306 $82,939 2024
Turfgrass Producers Of Florida Inc FL$331,838 Executive Director $77,367 $76,454 2024
Rio Grande Agricultural Land Trust NM$407,903 Executive Director $116,090 $131,344 2024
Hilltop Urban Farm PA$329,772 Executive Dir. $85,311 $92,136 2023
Lamppost Farm OH$411,075 Executive Dir. $59,600 $68,365 2023
Lehi Irrigation Company UT$411,275 President $1,500 $1,615 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NH 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 NH 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 default64th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)67th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted65th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted61st

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 (Lauren Judd) 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 69 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (K20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $70,975 is reasonable (approximately the 64th 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.