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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Maryland Pesticide Education

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 463713793
MD · NTEE B99
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Ruth Berlin, Executive Director / CEO ($80,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 432 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 70th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Ruth Berlin — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

432 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 432 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$131 total compensation of comparable organizations → $295,004 $80,000
$14,42910th
$34,87325th
$59,746Median
$85,54275th
$114,77590th
$80,000This org · 70th
p10$14,429
p25$34,873
p50$59,746
p75$85,542
p90$114,775
$80,000

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 MD 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
Open Storehouse Incorporated FL$361,786 President $70,000 $68,320 2024
Ohio Association For College OH$361,788 Executive Ad $32,657 $35,936 2024
Council Of Public Liberal Arts Colleges NC$360,337 Executive Director $40,148 $43,099 2024
Pivot Leadership Group TX$360,303 Executive Director $95,940 $99,706 2024
Literacy Connections Hudson NY$363,025 Executive Di $75,002 $68,597 2025
Rural Aspirations Project ME$363,803 Executive Director $83,428 $89,356 2023
Foundation For Mo County Free Libraries CA$359,452 Executive Director $78,121 $70,085 2024
Scottsdale Leadership Inc AZ$359,383 Executive Director $93,090 $95,760 2023
Heartlight Center Inc CO$359,354 Executive Dir. $91,975 $94,333 2023
22nd Judicial District Casa Inc OK$364,430 Exec Dir $66,285 $73,877 2025
Wild Horses Building Champions Inc SD$358,584 Director $18,000 $21,249 2023
Summer On The Cuyahoga OH$364,717 Executive Di $70,350 $77,413 2024
Ifees Inc MD$358,493 Secretary $195,256 $195,256 2023
Apereo Foundation Incorporated OR$364,789 Secretary, Executive Director $81,136 $78,281 2024
Patient Safety Movement Foundation CA$365,177 Coo $210,873 $184,303 2025
Lily Creek Farms OH$365,276 Executive Director $42,000 $46,217 2024
W5yi Licensing Services Inc TX$365,305 President $29,015 $30,155 2024
Manners Of The Heart Inc LA$357,842 Chief Visionary Opfficer $60,000 $68,641 2024
North Korea Human Rights Watch OH$365,913 Program Dire $80,000 $90,632 2023
The Hive Dgo CO$366,407 Executive Dir. $54,248 $54,043 2024
Farms To Grow Inc CA$366,693 Executive Dir. $35,500 $32,789 2023
The Growing Tree Learning Center VA$366,924 Administrator $49,885 $51,520 2023
Quality Care Community Service Inc VA$356,347 Supervisor $99,085 $99,396 2024
Lyric Performing Arts Company Inc TX$356,051 Director $56,250 $60,185 2023
Natural Stone Foundation OH$355,833 Executive Director $35,233 $39,915 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MD 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 MD 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 default70th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)70th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted73rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted64th

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 (Ruth Berlin) 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 432 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $80,000 is reasonable (approximately the 70th 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.