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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

San Francisco Transit Riders

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 474568771
CA · NTEE S01
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sara Johnson, Executive Director / CEO ($18,598) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 17 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 18th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

17 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 17 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,317 total compensation of comparable organizations → $176,663 $18,598
$10,97310th
$50,74525th
$79,304Median
$97,53175th
$124,38490th
$18,598This org · 18th
p10$10,973
p25$50,745
p50$79,304
p75$97,531
p90$124,384
$18,598

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
Ruby M Sisson Memorial Library CO$360,662 Executive Di $52,655 $58,471 2024
Bienvenido In Action TX$345,101 President $2,000 $2,317 2024
Friends Of Lafitte Corridor Inc LA$370,942 Executive Dir. $95,135 $121,316 2024
Maine Jobs Council ME$328,750 Chairman/treasurer $60,000 $69,578 2024
Pennsylvania State Association Of PA$384,303 Pres. 10/23- $3,000 $3,465 2024
Coalition Of African Communities - Philadelphia Africom PA$302,432 Director Of Programs $26,451 $30,548 2024
Socorro County Options Prevention NM$422,804 Coordinator/ $40,740 $50,745 2024
The Neighborhood Network Alliance IL$425,227 Executive Dir. $110,043 $128,987 2023
Peer Voices United CA$430,066 Ceo $101,764 $101,764 2024
Aapi Women Lead CA$438,369 Executive Dir. $176,663 $176,663 2024
Builders Of Color Coalition MA$439,464 Executive Director $86,417 $89,931 2024
Both Sides Of The Conversation CA$446,139 Executive Dir. $51,000 $52,506 2023
Visiones Collaborativas Collaborative Visions NM$246,616 Executive Director $11,970 $15,979 2022
Spokane Alliance WA$240,872 Senior Organizer & Executive Director $86,534 $87,408 2025
The Urbanist WA$240,593 Publisher $76,487 $79,304 2024
Realtors Political Action Committee Ii MI$489,038 Treasurer/secretary $79,655 $95,214 2024
Anti-violence Coalition Of Hudson County NJ$514,496 Executive Director $91,620 $97,531 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 default18th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)18th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted24th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted18th

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 (Sara Johnson) 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 17 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S01), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $18,598 is reasonable (approximately the 18th 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.