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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Fair Food Fund

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 461555654
MI · NTEE K12
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Kate Krauss, Executive Director / CEO ($235,336) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 85 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 100th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Kate Krauss — reported title “CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

85 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 85 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$43 total compensation of comparable organizations → $134,404 $235,336
$2,89810th
$10,05225th
$23,259Median
$41,07075th
$61,71890th
$235,336This org · 100th
p10$2,898
p25$10,052
p50$23,259
p75$41,070
p90$61,718
$235,336

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 MI 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
Lawton Farmers Market Institute OK$109,285 Director $28,812 $30,737 2024
The Richards Irrigation Company UT$107,160 President $5,500 $5,454 2024
Spalding Nutrition Center Inc NE$105,847 Secretary $26,226 $26,624 2025
Community Resource Tr OR$105,012 Executive Director $149,385 $134,404 2024
Bellows Falls Senior Center Inc VT$104,596 Executive Di $46,640 $45,481 2024
Overlook Food Awareness Resource Of Massachusetts Inc MA$104,578 Executive Director $29,923 $26,821 2023
Farm To School Frederick MD$104,415 Exeecutive Director $17,957 $16,265 2024
Roots For The Home Team MN$104,384 Executive Director $86,000 $84,761 2023
White Rock Local Market Inc TX$104,278 Outgoing Director $46,500 $45,065 2024
Grace Community Food Pantry PA$113,155 Executive Di $59,614 $56,111 2025
Norwin Area Meals On Wheels PA$115,064 Program Director $22,154 $21,404 2024
Fat Beet Foundation Inc FL$115,200 Board Member $9,187 $8,362 2024
Gateway Sustainable Farmers Alliance MO$101,651 President $599 $615 2024
Community Cares Inc MN$99,792 Board Member $4,985 $4,913 2023
Kansas Wheat Commission Research KS$97,575 Ceo $32,340 $33,849 2024
Good News Community Kitchen IL$119,436 Executive Director/ceo $121,251 $115,489 2024
San Lorenzo Family Help Center CA$97,343 Executive Dir. $58,217 $50,143 2023
Madera County Livestock Association CA$95,720 Ceo $63,800 $53,374 2024
E-roadmap Inc FL$121,379 Executive Director $47,167 $42,929 2024
Community Cafe Inc MN$94,469 Executive Dir. $37,851 $36,235 2024
Pulaski County Council On Aging GA$122,661 Director $36,941 $37,049 2023
Project Share Of Wadena Inc MN$94,140 Executive Di $4,960 $4,889 2023
North American Piedmontese Association SD$93,135 Executive Director $60,000 $66,049 2023
Iowa Farm Bureau Federation IA$123,823 President $40 $43 2023
Texas Agriforestry Small Farmers & Ranchers TX$123,848 Executive Director $18,750 $18,171 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MI 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 MI 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 default100th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)100th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted100th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted96th

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 (Kate Krauss) 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 85 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (K), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $235,336 is reasonable (approximately the 100th 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.