Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

California State Society For Opticians

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 474007511
CA · NTEE B60
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Ruby Garcia, Executive Director / CEO ($42,600) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 150 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 25th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

150 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 150 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,251 total compensation of comparable organizations → $299,596 $42,600
$17,99210th
$38,03125th
$67,898Median
$97,67175th
$114,46090th
$42,600This org · 25th
p10$17,992
p25$38,031
p50$67,898
p75$97,671
p90$114,460
$42,600

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
Ct League Of Conservation Voters CT$327,117 President $64,739 $70,295 2024
Mindful Birthing And Parenting CA$323,526 Vice President $28,550 $28,550 2024
Starting Now Corporation FL$328,951 Director $72,664 $81,387 2023
Clifford Antone Foundation TX$329,181 Executive Director $68,500 $79,353 2024
Virginia Head Start Associationinc VA$321,006 Executive Di $83,888 $93,801 2024
Cleveland Empowerment Foundation MS$332,100 Director, Ch $27,217 $36,142 2023
Ploughshare Institute For Sustainable TX$319,261 Vice President $21,750 $25,940 2023
American Institute Of Healthcare Compliance OH$332,828 Lpn, Bs, Cca, Cifha, Cha, Chcm, Chbs, Chco, Ohcc, Cmdp, Icdct-cm/pcs $54,223 $68,474 2023
Carley Cunniff-peter S Dixon Md CT$335,019 Executive Dir. $165,000 $179,161 2024
Nowmattersnow Org WA$316,324 President, Treasurer, & Ceo $155,600 $161,331 2024
Leadership Education Mission Alliance Lema Inst MI$315,656 President $70,000 $83,673 2024
The Institute Of Classical CA$336,507 Chapter Dire $101,823 $104,831 2023
Faith Community Nurse Network MN$336,612 Executive Di $3,333 $3,814 2024
Literacy Volunteers Of Greater Waterbury CT$314,920 Executive Director $90,569 $101,247 2023
Progress For Good Inc NY$314,802 Founder $31,333 $33,757 2023
Hannahs House NJ$314,646 Executive Director $18,240 $18,860 2024
Leadership Greater Mchenry County IL$313,863 Executive Di $89,404 $99,164 2025
Association Of Computer Technology Educa ME$339,711 Executive Director $87,112 $104,001 2023
Adagio Institute Inc TX$311,557 Summers $66,464 $79,268 2023
Louise H Batz Patient Safety Foundation TX$341,013 Executive Director $52,500 $62,615 2023
The Oped Project Public Knowledge Fund Inc NY$310,570 Executive Director $25,000 $26,162 2024
Well For The Journey Inc MD$310,084 Executive Di $83,700 $90,621 2024
Edwins Second Chance Life Skills Center OH$342,059 Pre., Secretary & Treasure $19,654 $24,107 2024
Happier Valley Comedy Inc MA$343,687 President $65,127 $67,775 2024
Pathway Financial Education MO$344,022 Executive Director $35,045 $44,255 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 default25th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)32nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted29th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted19th

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 (Ruby Garcia) 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 150 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $42,600 is reasonable (approximately the 25th 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.