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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Empowering Garden Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 473096476
IL · NTEE B99
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of R Biggins, Executive Director / CEO ($19,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 265 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 19th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

265 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 265 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$187 total compensation of comparable organizations → $274,995 $19,500
$12,48310th
$28,00125th
$46,793Median
$71,61275th
$95,11390th
$19,500This org · 19th
p10$12,483
p25$28,001
p50$46,793
p75$71,612
p90$95,113
$19,500

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 IL 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
The Black Fives Foundation CT$191,995 President, E $50,000 $47,686 2023
Caledonia Education Foundation MI$192,835 Executive Di $19,582 $19,969 2024
Antiquarian Book School Foundation CO$190,850 Executive Director $12,083 $11,447 2024
Recycle Across America MN$194,922 Executive Di $35,604 $35,785 2023
Coalition For Public Safety Training In MD$194,929 Executive Director $42,017 $39,957 2023
Architectural Foundation Of CA$189,680 Executive Dir. $150,646 $128,521 2024
Beth Israel Dermatology Foundation Inc MA$189,638 Director (Dermatologist, Hmfp) $100,462 $89,193 2024
Children Of Promise Stable Inc NY$196,459 Program Director $62,149 $55,485 2024
Revive The Roots RI$196,824 Executive Director $34,285 $31,643 2025
Cbee Foundation CA$187,131 Ceo $182,431 $155,638 2024
Uhuburg Institute Limited GA$198,463 Secretary And General Manager $104,000 $106,366 2023
Newport-mesa High School CA$185,868 Secretary/treasurer $1,200 $1,024 2024
Next Generation Choices Foundation VA$199,125 President $80,000 $78,570 2023
Kid Kare Project Inc IN$185,552 Office Manager $7,737 $8,061 2024
Lite House Partners Inc GA$185,332 Executive Director $183 $187 2023
Cardio-facio-cutaneous International NY$184,530 Former Executive Director $67,516 $62,057 2023
Ukrainian School Of Knowledge OR$200,613 President $32,400 $29,727 2024
Agc Of Iowa Foundation IA$183,174 Executive Vice President $31,254 $33,810 2024
Estes Park Learning Place Inc CO$182,902 Executive Director $56,156 $53,200 2024
Alaska Prehospital Education Consortium Inc AK$202,369 Program Director $23,150 $21,867 2024
High Way Education Inc NY$202,698 Executive Director $46,176 $41,225 2024
Women Leading Kentucky Inc KY$203,065 Executive Director $47,712 $50,644 2024
Monroe County Bar Center For Education NY$181,226 Executive Director - Thru Dec 2024 $17,320 $15,064 2025
Boosted Diplomas NV$204,559 Executive Di $69,692 $69,019 2024
Lincoln-way High School Foundation IL$179,721 Executive Di $60,000 $58,279 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL 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 IL 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 default19th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)18th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted24th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted17th

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 (R Biggins) 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 265 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $19,500 is reasonable (approximately the 19th 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.