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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Ventura County Regional Defense Partnership

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 300392555
CA · NTEE W24
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Gene Fisher, Executive Director / CEO ($50,400) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 20 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 35th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Gene Fisher — reported title “Co-Chair Public Member”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

20 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 20 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$4,238 total compensation of comparable organizations → $155,853 $50,400
$17,82010th
$35,11325th
$75,653Median
$119,02675th
$128,53090th
$50,400This org · 35th
p10$17,820
p25$35,113
p50$75,653
p75$119,026
p90$128,530
$50,400

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
Fundacion Agenda Ciudadana Inc PR$287,314 Treasurer $22,221 $23,483 2023
C4c Oakland Action Inc CA$261,369 Org. Director $37,917 $38,920 2024
Committee For A Unified Independent NY$290,721 President & Ceo $145,093 $155,853 2024
Coalition For Open Democracy NH$258,105 Excutive Director $60,414 $68,270 2023
Free State Project Inc NH$256,959 Executive Director $3,750 $4,238 2023
Wyoming Donor Alliance WY$298,228 Executive Di $27,920 $36,589 2023
Rhode Island Center For Freedom And Prosperity Inc RI$229,988 Executive Director $86,500 $101,508 2023
Taxpayer Foundation Of Oregon OR$321,399 Executive Director $113,450 $128,937 2023
Good Knights Inc OH$322,579 Executive Director $13,750 $17,312 2024
Yuan Foundation MD$223,028 Chief Executive Officer $89,804 $99,803 2024
Bikewalk North Carolina NC$329,878 Executive Di $65,250 $78,078 2025
Nm Voters First NM$213,100 Executive Director $24,000 $30,685 2024
Jefferson Democratic Club PA$199,248 Chairman $15,080 $17,876 2024
The Rendell Center For Civics And PA$356,748 Executive Director $105,278 $128,485 2023
March On Harrisburg Education Fund PA$186,332 President $60,000 $73,227 2023
Minnesota Voters Alliance MN$367,012 Executive Director $108,805 $127,801 2024
Better Wyoming WY$373,140 Executive Di $67,494 $88,451 2023
Caesar Rodney Institute DE$375,428 Executive Director $52,000 $62,312 2023
True Texas Education Corporation TX$393,945 Director $100,000 $118,909 2024
Fairvote Minnesota Foundation MN$397,347 Executive Director $101,632 $119,375 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 2025 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 default35th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)35th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted35th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted35th

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 (Gene Fisher) 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 20 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (W24), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $50,400 is reasonable (approximately the 35th 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.