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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Wells For Life

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 330966848
KS · NTEE K99
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Michael Viser, Executive Director / CEO ($66,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 31 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 71st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Michael Viser — reported title “Key Employee”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

31 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 31 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$11 total compensation of comparable organizations → $154,363 $66,000
$23,31110th
$31,46625th
$49,622Median
$67,01975th
$113,59290th
$66,000This org · 71st
p10$23,311
p25$31,466
p50$49,622
p75$67,019
p90$113,592
$66,000

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 KS 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
North American Vegetarian Society NY$389,680 President And Treasurer $50,800 $41,272 2024
Urban Community Agri-nomics Ucan NC$401,221 Executive Di $30,200 $28,056 2024
Broad Street Market Alliance PA$376,010 Director $73,200 $67,569 2023
Food4kids Backpack Program Of North Florida Inc FL$368,640 Executive Director $36,212 $31,489 2023
Mwanzo WA$365,792 Director $80,751 $65,001 2024
Foodshot Global Inc NY$361,782 Executive Director $190,000 $154,363 2024
Outpost Agriculture Inc OR$357,990 President $13 $11 2023
Hillside Agricultural Society MA$425,887 President $1,750 $1,377 2025
Our New Way Garden Inc NY$351,174 President $40,000 $32,497 2024
Grow Jackson MI$332,851 Executive Director $67,388 $62,537 2024
Organiceye Inc WI$457,331 Executive Director $142,806 $134,090 2024
Community Food Initiatives OH$323,073 Past Director $29,162 $27,770 2024
Fox Valley Food For Health Inc IL$317,807 Executive Di $43,846 $39,900 2023
Fort Worth Food & Wine Foundation TX$470,466 Director/executive Directo $69,615 $64,458 2023
Incubator Kitchen Collective KY$307,620 Executive Di $54,546 $52,688 2024
Mckeesport Meals On Wheels Inc PA$295,500 Coordinator $26,000 $23,311 2024
Raleigh City Farm Inc NC$282,282 Executive Director $53,248 $49,467 2024
Chester Agricultural Center Inc NY$277,859 Executive Director $110,000 $89,368 2024
Natural Soybean And Grain Alliance Inc AR$277,315 Director $112,400 $113,592 2024
Hollywood Farmers Market Inc OR$273,190 Interim Market Director $37,583 $32,306 2023
Hillsdale Farmers Market Inc OR$267,831 Manager $44,925 $37,509 2024
Ventura County Farm To School CA$266,589 Executive Di $102,000 $79,189 2024
Chattanooga Food Center TN$266,455 Executive Director $51,000 $49,622 2023
Food Strong OH$515,699 Executive Director $54,138 $53,076 2023
Healthy Archuleta Inc CO$516,454 Secretary $6,527 $5,793 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to KS 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 KS 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 default71st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)61st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted71st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted71st

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 (Michael Viser) 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 31 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (K99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $66,000 is reasonable (approximately the 71st 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.