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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Food Equality Initiative Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 472377396
KS · NTEE K01
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Erin Martinez, Executive Director / CEO ($90,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 15 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 93rd percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Erin Martinez — reported title “CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

15 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 15 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$28,388 total compensation of comparable organizations → $138,734 $90,000
$43,96110th
$48,23725th
$57,386Median
$69,94575th
$82,81990th
$90,000This org · 93rd
p10$43,961
p25$48,237
p50$57,386
p75$69,945
p90$82,819
$90,000

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 KS 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
Ecological Insights ND$350,741 Executive Di $49,000 $48,346 2024
Oregon Community Food System Network OR$342,656 Executive Dir. $72,438 $60,481 2024
Rail Yards Market NM$335,880 Executive Director $52,000 $51,770 2023
Triple Helix Institute For Agriculture NY$312,435 Executive Director $57,539 $48,127 2023
Renewable Farms CA$307,437 Ceo $73,077 $58,410 2023
Hunters Sharing The Harvest Inc PA$400,706 Executive Di $88,949 $79,751 2024
National Organic Coalition Inc MA$408,748 Executive Di $86,436 $71,897 2023
The Berry Good Food Foundation Inc CA$412,149 Board Member $36,565 $28,388 2024
New Orleans Food Policy Advisory Committee LA$417,093 Director $83,261 $84,864 2023
Food For The Spirit Inc NY$272,637 Executive Director $65,769 $53,433 2024
Indiana Agricultural Law Foundation Inc IN$264,055 President $45,552 $44,465 2023
Mission Marshall Inc TX$440,355 Executive Dir. $47,115 $43,625 2023
Freedmen Heirs Foundation Inc MD$463,088 Executive Dir. $165,050 $138,734 2024
Food Exploration And Discovery CA$463,277 President $87,580 $67,993 2024
Nc Ag Partnership Inc NC$501,265 Chairman $60,000 $57,386 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to KS 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 KS 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 default93rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)93rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted93rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted87th

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 (Erin Martinez) 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 15 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (K01), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $90,000 is reasonable (approximately the 93rd 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.