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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Social Science Observatory

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 462724499
CA · NTEE P20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Zarinah Agnew, Executive Director / CEO ($89,100) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 19 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 79th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

19 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 19 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$4 total compensation of comparable organizations → $116,557 $89,100
$12,82510th
$24,96625th
$44,375Median
$77,00175th
$94,91490th
$89,100This org · 79th
p10$12,825
p25$24,966
p50$44,375
p75$77,001
p90$94,914
$89,100

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
Communities Of Excellence 2026 Inc CA$119,868 President An $38,250 $37,153 2024
Ventura County Central Service Office Inc CA$126,080 Office Manager $68,007 $70,795 2022
Spring Research Innovation Network Group CA$127,975 Executive Director $23,868 $23,868 2023
Careyes Foundation CA$128,003 Director $16,000 $16,000 2023
Vetcares Inc CA$128,729 Ceo $130 $126 2024
Women In Revenue Inc CA$106,627 Executive Dir. $49,862 $49,862 2023
Mother-wise CA$102,303 Executive Di $44,375 $44,375 2023
Here To Serve Inc CA$136,789 Ceo/board Chair $79,761 $75,476 2025
The Caritas Foundation CA$137,500 Chief Operating Officer $18,203 $17,681 2024
Emotional Health Institute CA$95,630 Admin $4 $4 2024
Mattole Valley Resource Center CA$151,615 Executive Dir. $30,058 $28,443 2025
Latinos For Leadership Excellence CA$81,059 Founder & Board Chair $99,013 $99,013 2023
Flourish Ministries Inc CA$160,448 President $89,347 $89,347 2023
Nextstep Ministries CA$163,347 President/exec Director $27,524 $26,734 2024
Northern California Dr Martin Luther King Jr Community Foundatio CA$164,851 Officer $99,220 $93,889 2025
Santa Monica Bay Area Human Relations CA$166,141 Director $80,844 $78,525 2024
Sustainable Silicon Valley CA$166,295 Executive Dir. $26,833 $26,063 2024
Hygieia Behavioral Health Foundation Inc CA$166,700 President And Ceo $120,000 $116,557 2024
587 Ministries Inc CA$175,473 President $50,000 $48,566 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 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 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 default79th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)79th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted84th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted74th

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 (Zarinah Agnew) 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 19 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (P20) + CA + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $89,100 is reasonable (approximately the 79th 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.