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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Waconia United Food Shelf

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 471667774
MN · NTEE K31
FY ending 2024-09-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Angie Cruzen, Executive Director / CEO ($82,207) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 83 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 92nd percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

83 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 83 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,364 total compensation of comparable organizations → $134,255 $82,207
$15,39010th
$27,85325th
$47,129Median
$67,11675th
$80,48890th
$82,207This org · 92nd
p10$15,390
p25$27,853
p50$47,129
p75$67,116
p90$80,488
$82,207

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 MN 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
Community Food Cupboard Inc VT$475,819 Administrator $66,888 $68,134 2024
Anchor Point Food Pantry AK$474,331 Executive Dir. $5,196 $5,027 2024
Lamar County Food Pantry Inc TX$469,326 Executive Director $61,311 $63,901 2023
Vanburen Council For Human Services CA$468,514 Daniels $41,000 $35,829 2024
The 1017 Project OR$468,316 Executive Director $46,500 $43,702 2024
Community Bread Basket Inc WV$467,093 Program Administrator $27,366 $30,872 2023
Pickerington Food Pantry OH$466,338 Executive Di $74,420 $79,770 2024
Irvington My Brothers Keeper Inc MD$466,068 Secretary $69,648 $67,844 2023
Hope-net CA$465,680 Executive Director $61,442 $55,280 2023
Gap Ministries Of Augusta Inc GA$486,802 Executive Director $58,000 $59,020 2024
Joyce Uptown Foodshelf Inc MN$462,537 Director $62,271 $64,110 2023
Elmore County Food Pantry Inc AL$488,214 Director/manager $31,200 $35,120 2023
Adams County Emergency Food Bank CO$461,512 Executive Director $76,014 $75,944 2023
Fish & Loaves MI$461,198 Executive Director $75,000 $80,658 2023
Sharefest Will County IL$460,087 President Director $5,333 $5,306 2024
Topss OH$459,037 Executive Director $51,931 $55,665 2024
Hamilton County Harvest Food Bank Inc IN$454,143 Exec Director $40,000 $42,690 2024
Middlebury Food Pantry IN$499,461 Executive Director $62,308 $66,498 2024
Uproot Colorado CO$450,552 Executive Dir. $64,725 $62,810 2024
Parkland Cares Food Pantry PA$500,525 Executive Di $37,500 $37,846 2024
Franklin Area Community Services Inc OH$443,173 Executive Director $25,667 $27,512 2024
Warehouses4good TX$507,893 Executive Dir. $53,084 $53,739 2024
The Bread Of Life Inc NC$508,582 Exective Director $26,961 $28,193 2024
Lander Care And Share Food Bank WY$514,099 Executive Director $12,375 $13,411 2024
Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project Inc OK$516,113 Executive Director $118,032 $131,533 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MN 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 MN 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 default92nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)90th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted93rd
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 (Angie Cruzen) 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 83 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (K31), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $82,207 is reasonable (approximately the 92nd 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.