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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Herb Society Of America Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 341596261
OH · NTEE C420
FY ending 2024-03-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Laura Lee Martin, Executive Director / CEO ($65,109) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 758 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 49th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

758 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 758 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$288 total compensation of comparable organizations → $818,228 $65,109
$21,06210th
$43,32125th
$65,692Median
$86,53275th
$107,52490th
$65,109This org · 49th
p10$21,062
p25$43,321
p50$65,692
p75$86,532
p90$107,524
$65,109

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 OH 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
Idaho Organization Of Resource Coun ID$387,683 Exec Director $66,838 $69,113 2023
Science & Environmental Council Of FL$387,494 Executive Director $24,000 $21,916 2023
Carolina Recycling Association SC$389,773 Executive Di $73,079 $71,981 2024
Mt Mountain Mamas MT$389,821 Executive Dir. $80,000 $81,419 2024
Bees In The D MI$390,684 Vice-president/treasurer $69,735 $69,966 2023
Community Cloud Forest Conservation MN$390,975 Co-chair $36,241 $33,810 2024
Abundant Earth Foundation CA$385,009 Director/president $29,000 $24,342 2023
Ocean Futures Society Inc CA$384,635 President $81,210 $68,164 2023
Plant It Again CA$391,678 Ceo $82,309 $67,104 2024
Earthroots Field School Inc CA$391,713 Executive Director $27,335 $22,286 2024
Open Space Cncl For The St Louis Region MO$391,754 Executive Dir. $43,260 $43,260 2024
Seattle Reconomy WA$384,298 Exec Director $43,057 $36,396 2024
Mason County Climate Justice WA$391,936 President $13,546 $11,450 2024
Otsego County Conservation NY$383,328 Executive Dir. $69,904 $59,639 2024
Therapeutic Gardens Inc CA$393,018 President $157,450 $128,365 2024
Botanical Community CA$393,109 President & Ceo $29,637 $24,876 2023
Blessed Earth Inc KY$382,900 President $191,959 $194,716 2024
Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute HI$393,546 Executive Di $67,676 $57,207 2024
Putnam Land Conservancy Inc FL$394,090 Ceo & Conservation Director $64,167 $56,913 2024
Childhood Lead Action Project RI$394,175 Executive Director $69,270 $62,712 2024
Vinalhaven Land Trust Inc ME$394,562 Executive Di $77,874 $75,798 2023
Heathcote Botanical Gardens Inc FL$394,957 Executive Di $63,750 $56,543 2024
Southern Maryland Rc&d Board Inc MD$395,050 Executive Di $44,034 $40,017 2023
Strawberry Hill Foundation Inc PA$380,658 Executive Di $71,500 $67,320 2024
Colorado Association For Recycling Inc CO$380,488 Executive Director $106,430 $96,354 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to OH 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 OH 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 default49th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)41st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted53rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted46th

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 (Laura Lee Martin) 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 758 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (C), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $65,109 is reasonable (approximately the 49th 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.