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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Hydrous

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 465112972
CA · NTEE S99
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dr Erika Woolsey Peterson, Executive Director / CEO ($84,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 56 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 73rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Dr Erika Woolsey Peterson — reported title “CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

56 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 56 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,472 total compensation of comparable organizations → $299,169 $84,000
$7,21010th
$22,75025th
$56,080Median
$85,51075th
$113,43090th
$84,000This org · 73rd
p10$7,210
p25$22,750
p50$56,080
p75$85,510
p90$113,430
$84,000

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 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
Plaza Terrace Mutual Housing CT$235,418 Executive Director $31,395 $35,096 2023
Roots & Dreams And Mustard Seeds Inc MA$231,240 President, Co-director $44,044 $45,835 2024
Glover Park Alliance DC$227,283 Executive Director $92,942 $94,452 2024
Community Alliance For Jewish-affiliated Cemeteries Inc NY$249,041 Ceo $141,282 $147,847 2024
Indiana Community Development IN$250,264 Treasurer - Director $70,249 $85,792 2024
The Freedom Foundation Of Minnesota MN$225,040 Ceo, Secretary, Treasurer $110,000 $129,592 2023
Vermont Council Of Special Education VT$223,586 Executive Dir. $26,000 $29,525 2025
International Foundation For Cultural CO$223,551 First Vp $6,500 $7,218 2024
Friends Inc AL$219,008 Executive Director $57,500 $74,063 2023
Harvard Townhouse Inc NE$262,230 Executive Director $21,014 $26,175 2024
Westside Rising IL$212,744 Executive Dir. $44,872 $51,088 2024
Foundation For Community Driven Innovation Inc FL$264,104 Executive Director $21,750 $23,662 2024
Sustainable Opportunity Development OH$265,636 Executive Di $95,577 $120,695 2023
Habitat For Neighborhood Business MO$209,384 Executive Director $26,250 $32,198 2024
Takotna Community Association AK$208,523 Secretary $10,500 $11,625 2024
Detroit Greenways Coalition MI$207,038 Executive Director $50,000 $61,532 2023
Buffalo Reuse Inc NY$207,027 President $8,378 $8,767 2024
Integrative Development Initiative CA$205,875 2023 Cfo & Food Cycle Collective Co-coordinator $2,581 $2,657 2023
Kulaiwi Land Trust HI$205,010 Interim Executive Director-ceo $18,750 $20,015 2023
Northeast Michigan Community Partnership Inc Aka Partners In Prevention MI$271,776 Program Director $45,760 $54,698 2024
Built2last Innovations Lab Inc NC$203,953 Executive Director $119,439 $147,142 2023
Societa Mutuo Socorso Enrico Caruso In Manville Ri RI$202,411 Treasurer $6,300 $7,202 2023
Citizens4community OR$200,555 Executive Director $78,056 $83,946 2024
Bloomfield Development Corporation PA$275,921 Former Ex. Dir. $61,879 $73,573 2023
Venture Carolina SC$199,622 Executive Director $5,400 $6,524 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 default73rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)84th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted77th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted66th

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 (Dr Erika Woolsey Peterson) 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 56 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $84,000 is reasonable (approximately the 73rd 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.