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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Granary Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 470804412
NE · NTEE S32
FY ending 2024-08-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Brian Depew, Executive Director / CEO ($17,257) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 25 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 20th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Brian Depew — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

25 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 25 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$19 total compensation of comparable organizations → $204,496 $17,257
$4,34310th
$30,13925th
$71,916Median
$104,15275th
$130,36390th
$17,257This org · 20th
p10$4,343
p25$30,139
p50$71,916
p75$104,152
p90$130,363
$17,257

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 NE 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
Southernmost Illinois Delta Empowerment Zone Inc IL$332,466 Executive Director $63,591 $58,126 2024
Logan County Economic Development CO$320,715 Executive Director $113,473 $104,152 2023
Beadle And Spink Enterprise SD$340,295 Executive Di $67,175 $68,929 2024
Iaf Northwest WA$344,164 Lead Organizer $5,205 $4,333 2024
The Living River Restoration Trust VA$311,836 Executive Director $29,231 $26,241 2024
Griggs-steele Empowerment Zone Inc ND$296,295 President $360 $367 2024
Rei Capital Access Fund Inc OK$292,647 President $42,667 $43,682 2024
Valdese Economic Development Invest NC$288,431 Director $72,711 $71,916 2023
Rural Consumer Services Corporation NC$374,114 Ceo/general $212,866 $204,496 2024
Rural Preservation Company Of Clinton NY$278,985 Executive Dir. $55,105 $46,296 2024
Center For Community Transformation Inc OK$277,565 Secretary-treasurer $4,257 $4,358 2024
Yadkin County Economic Development NC$273,413 President $101,010 $97,038 2024
Northeast Texas Economic Development TX$389,637 Executive Director $12,920 $12,016 2024
Rural Peoples Platform WA$390,950 Executive Director $36,207 $30,139 2024
Rural Services Of Indiana Inc IN$267,542 Director $130,050 $131,277 2023
Cadco Foundation Inc WV$239,336 President And Ceo From 10/01/24 $19 $19 2024
Texas Rural Communiites Inc TX$421,076 Executive Director $81,617 $75,907 2024
South-central Indiana Regional IN$427,663 Executive Di $92,548 $90,741 2024
Beautiful Downtown Lewiston ID$226,853 Executive Dir. $72,120 $76,448 2022
Indiana Cooperative Development IN$437,011 Executive Di $131,561 $128,993 2024
Chehalis Tribal Loan Fund WA$437,153 Executive Director $127,500 $106,133 2024
Community Capital Of Vermont VT$438,273 Executive Di $113,519 $106,233 2024
Great Plains Development Inc KS$469,125 Co-executive Director $84,532 $84,908 2024
Southern Mutual Help Association Inc LA$471,290 President $180,319 $190,060 2023
Lemhi County Economic Development Association Inc ID$493,886 Exec Director $49,921 $50,834 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NE 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 NE 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 default20th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)20th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted88th

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 (Brian Depew) 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 25 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S32), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $17,257 is reasonable (approximately the 20th 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.