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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Carolina Recycling Association

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 561600416
SC · NTEE C270
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Mary Mcclellan, Executive Director / CEO ($73,079) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 26 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 65th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Mary Mcclellan — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

26 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 26 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$10,201 total compensation of comparable organizations → $168,685 $73,079
$27,64710th
$34,02725th
$55,218Median
$83,42975th
$109,24890th
$73,079This org · 65th
p10$27,647
p25$34,027
p50$55,218
p75$83,429
p90$109,248
$73,079

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 SC 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
Wachusett Earthday Incorporated MA$372,421 Executive Di $34,616 $29,817 2024
Recreative Denver CO$372,240 Executive Director $10,780 $10,201 2023
United Prairie Foundation Incorporated ND$408,993 President $17,091 $18,510 2023
Reuse It Center Inc KS$365,928 Director $31,468 $33,549 2023
The Experimental Farm Network Cooperative PA$418,328 Co-director/board Member $86,000 $82,207 2024
Art Parts Creative Reuse Center CO$447,493 Executive Director $61,752 $58,435 2023
Pedal It Forward Nwa Inc AR$450,310 Executive Director $99,893 $107,630 2024
Cement Kiln Recycling Coalition VA$322,206 Executive Director $177,030 $168,685 2023
Bk Rot Inc NY$319,398 Executive Director $82,810 $69,878 2025
Recraft Creative Reuse Center SC$472,404 Member At Large, Board Of Directors; Executive Director $52,000 $52,000 2024
Habits Of Waste CA$307,102 Founder, Director, President, Ed $133,943 $110,866 2024
Friends Of Guana Tolomato Matanzas FL$479,661 Fmr Exec Dir $31,953 $29,623 2023
Methow Recycles WA$291,962 Executive Director $29,913 $25,671 2024
The Building Conservation Trust TX$489,214 President $102,521 $101,205 2023
End Of Life Vehicle Solutions MI$494,788 Executive Director $60,414 $59,773 2024
The Idea Store Creative Reuse Center IL$272,176 Manager $33,663 $32,660 2023
Wild Farm Alliance CA$509,019 Executive Director $74,809 $63,749 2023
Bella Vista Recycling Foundation AR$261,197 Director $43,400 $48,143 2023
Our Hope WA$521,795 President $41,550 $36,711 2023
Cincinnati Recycling And Reuse Hub OH$525,846 Executive Director $42,000 $43,900 2023
Free Geek Twin Cities MN$550,417 Executive Director $36,363 $35,459 2023
Southeast Kansas Recycling Inc KS$562,392 Operations Manager $36,420 $37,715 2024
Great Burn Study Group MT$565,929 Executive Dir. $83,051 $85,813 2024
Circular Colorado Incorporated CO$569,418 Presidentceo $143,751 $132,126 2024
Northern Prairies Land Trust SD$580,732 Board Member, Exec Director $78,923 $83,492 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to SC 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 SC 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 default65th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)58th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted69th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted65th

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 (Mary Mcclellan) 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 26 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C27), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $73,079 is reasonable (approximately the 65th 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.