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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Joshua Tree National Park Council For The Arts

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 465553494
CA · NTEE C60
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Vickie Waite, Executive Director / CEO ($8,400) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 12 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 8th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Vickie Waite — reported title “EXEC DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

12 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 12 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,723 total compensation of comparable organizations → $67,203 $8,400
$9,17310th
$11,84325th
$32,339Median
$46,86875th
$54,22590th
$8,400This org · 8th
p10$9,173
p25$11,843
p50$32,339
p75$46,868
p90$54,225
$8,400

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
Aleli Environmental PR$20,076 Presidente $2,645 $2,723 2023
Msc Foundation PA$20,230 President $36,531 $43,435 2023
Center For Sustainable Agricultural FL$19,529 President $60,000 $67,203 2023
Black Rock Forest Preserve Inc NY$21,992 Secretary $31,901 $33,383 2024
Mlt Holdings Inc HI$22,994 President $8,503 $9,076 2023
Western Alliance For Nature CA$24,042 Executive Director $10,050 $10,050 2024
Waterstart Channels For Innovation NV$16,250 Secretary & Treasurer $45,535 $54,419 2023
Sustainable World Inc NY$25,372 President And Convenor $43,000 $44,998 2024
Cca Florida Foundation Inc FL$14,691 Secretary $28,765 $31,294 2024
Stonington Land Trust Inc CT$26,187 Exec Directo $24,000 $26,830 2023
San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary CA$28,826 Executive Director, Water $50,970 $52,476 2023
Ftf Foundation AK$29,654 Executive Di $10,914 $12,440 2023

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 default8th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)8th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted58th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted8th

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 (Vickie Waite) 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 12 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (C), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $8,400 is reasonable (approximately the 8th 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.