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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Recycling Research Foundation Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 521332690
DC · NTEE C052
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Emma M Corning, Executive Director / CEO ($109,074) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 122 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: Emma M Corning — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

122 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 122 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$555 total compensation of comparable organizations → $203,133 $109,074
$9,04310th
$22,32725th
$47,820Median
$70,80975th
$93,52090th
$109,074This org · 93rd
p10$9,043
p25$22,327
p50$47,820
p75$70,809
p90$93,520
$109,074

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 DC 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
Keep Athens Limestone Beautiful Inc AL$101,656 Executive Director $39,733 $47,512 2024
Tuscarora Wildlife Education Projec PA$102,741 Exec. Direct $14,400 $15,895 2024
Luesther T Mertz Legacy Trust For The DE$102,868 Trustees $45,606 $50,888 2023
The Wildwood Conservation Foundation CA$101,327 Executive Dir. $12,000 $11,470 2024
Center For Renewables Integration VA$103,045 President $73,720 $81,114 2023
Lake Erie Islands Historical Society OH$101,154 Board Member $12,578 $14,746 2024
Jews In Tech CA$103,220 Director $20,000 $19,115 2024
Muskingum Watershed Conservancy OH$100,994 Executive Director $51,704 $60,615 2024
Walking Humbly Outdoor Adventures Inc KY$99,435 Secretary $2,475 $3,030 2023
Wild Tree Foundation CA$98,682 Executive Dir. $100,000 $98,401 2023
Buckeye Environmental Network OH$98,606 2025 Direcor $75,000 $87,925 2024
Penn Soil Rc&d Council PA$106,194 Executive Director $18,044 $20,505 2023
Murrysville Area Watershed Association PA$107,000 Director $15,700 $17,330 2024
Alaska Wilderness League Action DC$107,007 Executive Director $34,563 $33,571 2024
Whetstone Wood Trust Fund MA$97,108 Trustee $52,178 $51,899 2024
Forestplanet Inc DC$97,102 Executive Di $13,000 $13,000 2023
Kingfisher Trails Inc OK$97,082 President & Ceo $30,000 $37,644 2023
Kettle Moraine Land Trust Inc WI$97,080 Managing Director $37,500 $43,349 2024
Sarasota Bay Watch Inc FL$95,871 Executive Director $40,000 $40,521 2025
Georgia Native Plant Society GA$108,382 Executive Director $43,750 $50,129 2023
Hoosic River Watershed Association MA$95,496 Executive Director $38,946 $38,738 2024
Bank Climate Advocates CA$95,372 Executive Dir. $73,483 $72,308 2023
Science And Environmental Policy Project VA$94,968 President $120,000 $128,247 2024
Pine Hollow Arboretum NY$94,881 Executive Director $63,132 $63,145 2024
River In Action CA$109,683 President $62,413 $58,116 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to DC 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 DC 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)95th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted95th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted89th

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 (Emma M Corning) 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 122 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (C), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $109,074 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.