Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Blue Heron Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 412054373
CA · NTEE T22
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Anne Kurashige, Executive Director / CEO ($2,637) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 22 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 5th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Anne Kurashige — reported title “DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

22 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 22 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,680 total compensation of comparable organizations → $151,269 $2,637
$6,27010th
$17,78025th
$65,457Median
$90,84275th
$105,45090th
$2,637This org · 5th
p10$6,270
p25$17,780
p50$65,457
p75$90,842
p90$105,450
$2,637

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
Walter & Avis Jacobs Foundation Inc KY$256,115 President $10,000 $12,121 2025
St Stephens Episcopal School FL$261,420 Ex-officio $9,349 $10,471 2023
The Gerald S And Miriam M Friedkin CA$262,367 Director $21,207 $21,833 2023
Anna's Celebration Of Life IN$275,464 Director $51,688 $63,124 2024
Sauganash Foundation NY$280,083 Trustee $29,400 $31,675 2023
Southeastern Pa Intergroup PA$286,727 Office Manager $62,720 $72,434 2024
Daniel Foundation Inc FL$219,163 President/ceo $1,500 $1,680 2023
Cassie Hines Shoes Cancer Foundation Inc MI$294,164 Vice President - Executive Director $13,350 $16,429 2023
Bonny Lea Charitable Foundation $294,876 Executive Director $98,872 $98,872 2024
Delaware Preservation Fund Inc DE$304,850 Program Director $4,890 $5,545 2024
Igrb Foundation IL$197,858 Vice President & Secretary $80,133 $91,233 2024
Grantmakers Of Oregon And Sw Washington OR$310,685 President/ceo $136,621 $151,269 2023
Msda Charitable And Educational MD$322,375 Executive Director $5,360 $5,803 2024
Terrebonne Foundation For Academic LA$326,465 Executive Director $56,000 $71,411 2024
Blackacre Conservancy Inc KY$326,500 Executive Director $70,000 $89,667 2023
Norman A & Susan L Pappas Family MI$330,349 Secretary $26,189 $31,304 2024
Woodway Supporting Foundation 8 TX$175,010 President/director $57,700 $66,842 2024
Leadership Perimeter Inc GA$339,391 Executive Di $90,600 $105,497 2024
Hand Up For Women TN$351,607 Executive Director $68,870 $86,311 2023
Zarlengo Foundation CO$362,095 Executive Dir. $95,000 $105,493 2024
Worcester Public Library Foundation MA$370,266 Executive Director/clerk $100,957 $105,062 2024
Parson Of The Hills Foundation Inc NC$373,789 Ceo Director $52,008 $64,071 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA 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 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 default5th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)5th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted36th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted0th

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 (Anne Kurashige) 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 22 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (T22), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $2,637 is reasonable (approximately the 5th 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.