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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Downtown San Diego Public Spaces

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 462438392
CA · NTEE N32
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Elizabeth Brennan, Executive Director / CEO ($8,270) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 43 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 12th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Elizabeth Brennan — reported title “PRESIDENT AND CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

43 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 43 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,058 total compensation of comparable organizations → $227,815 $8,270
$6,56010th
$36,01425th
$74,761Median
$92,61775th
$109,81990th
$8,270This org · 12th
p10$6,560
p25$36,014
p50$74,761
p75$92,617
p90$109,819
$8,270

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
Santa Barbara County Trails Council CA$299,723 Executive Director $60,000 $60,000 2024
Friends Of Wisconsin State Parks Inc WI$300,825 Executive Director $68,520 $82,872 2024
Tahoe-pyramid Trail Inc NV$304,263 Executive Dir. $69,428 $80,594 2024
World Trails Network - Hub For The Americas NH$305,579 Chair $5,000 $5,505 2023
American Academy For Park And WA$277,983 Executive Di $17,307 $17,944 2024
High Peaks Alliance ME$314,954 Executive Di $86,440 $103,199 2023
Mccoy Farm And Gardens TN$274,627 Employee Executive Director $75,000 $91,297 2024
Parkway Council Foundation PA$271,602 Executive Di $115,000 $136,733 2023
Scott Community Golf Course Inc KS$270,783 Employee $55,312 $71,246 2023
Presque Isle Partnership Inc PA$324,230 Executive Director $75,059 $89,244 2023
Castle Rock Parks And Trails Founda CO$329,215 Executive Di $19,192 $21,941 2023
Lititz Springs Park Inc PA$258,164 Treasurer $916 $1,058 2024
Grand Rapids Whitewater Inc MI$247,817 President/ce $185,120 $227,815 2023
Montana Skatepark Association MT$246,471 President $7,500 $9,640 2023
Top Of Michigan Trails Council MI$347,614 Executive Dir. $90,084 $107,680 2024
Friends Of International Friendship Park CA$350,167 Executive Dir. $36,000 $36,000 2024
Ranger Snowmobile Atv Club Inc MN$240,822 President $1,225 $1,443 2023
United Parks As One NJ$352,284 Treasurer $5,600 $5,790 2024
Los Angeles River State Park Partners CA$239,039 Executive Director $73,376 $75,543 2023
David Allen Memorial Ballpark Inc OK$236,278 Executive Director $97,000 $123,694 2024
Mendocino Area Parks Association CA$235,492 Vice President $34,994 $36,028 2023
Ocmulgee National Park & Preserve GA$234,575 Executive Di $76,000 $91,111 2023
The Faribault Ice Arena Association MN$233,841 President $34,257 $40,359 2023
Enid Sports Association OK$362,098 Executive Director $86,539 $110,354 2024
Brec Foundation LA$363,185 Executive Director $177,692 $226,593 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 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 default12th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)14th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted100th

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 (Elizabeth Brennan) 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 43 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (N32), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $8,270 is reasonable (approximately the 12th 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.