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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Zellwood Water Users Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 592365753
FL · NTEE K20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Janice Ferguson, Executive Director / CEO ($60,531) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 68 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 62nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Janice Ferguson — reported title “SECRETARY”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

68 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 68 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$56 total compensation of comparable organizations → $168,498 $60,531
$2,73210th
$19,98525th
$48,745Median
$77,59775th
$108,82290th
$60,531This org · 62nd
p10$2,732
p25$19,985
p50$48,745
p75$77,597
p90$108,822
$60,531

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 FL 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
Waco Downtown Farmers Market TX$299,065 Market Manager $49,920 $53,156 2024
Green Acres Urban Farm And Research Project MO$299,513 Ceo $38,871 $43,825 2024
Community Gardens Of Tucson Inc AZ$294,402 Executive Dir. $51,260 $52,477 2024
Low Input Viticulture & Enology Inc OR$300,988 Executive Director $114,872 $113,555 2024
Ohio County & Independent Agricultural Societies OH$292,228 President $50 $56 2024
Pineville Water Association MS$288,362 President $1,750 $2,075 2024
Thimbleberry Collaborative Farm OR$277,743 Exec Dir $49,433 $50,310 2023
Old Marbach School Water Supply TX$273,088 Key Employee $28,969 $30,847 2024
Pennsylvania Dairy Princess & Promotion PA$323,738 Program Director $41,800 $44,372 2024
Mid-atlantic 4r Nutrient MD$324,452 Treasurer $67,770 $67,444 2024
Nicollet County Agricultural Society MN$267,949 Exec Secretary $1,375 $1,446 2024
Hilltop Urban Farm PA$329,772 Executive Dir. $85,311 $93,236 2023
North Carolina Watermelon NC$264,826 Exec Directo $25,060 $27,563 2024
Turfgrass Producers Of Florida Inc FL$331,838 Executive Director $77,367 $77,367 2024
Michigan Seed Potato Association MI$261,692 Executive Di $58,923 $66,652 2023
Agriinstitute Inc IN$261,554 Executive Director $96,400 $111,411 2023
South Dakota Agricultural Foundation Inc SD$259,602 Executive Director $102,560 $124,046 2023
Juneberry Ridge Educational Foundation NC$335,998 Education Dir. $76,306 $83,928 2024
Arizona Junior Rodeo Association Inc AZ$257,254 Secretary Since 9-2023 $3,143 $3,218 2024
Osamequin Farm Inc MA$255,720 Foundation Mgr. $62,746 $60,020 2024
National Grape Research Alliance Inc CA$343,146 President $183,313 $168,498 2024
E & L Development Foundation Inc MS$250,687 Program Dire $49,500 $58,686 2024
Africulture VA$249,576 Executive Director $13,575 $13,952 2024
American Iris Society CA$249,334 Registrar $14,400 $13,236 2024
Artisan Cheese Festival CA$245,957 Executive Director $42,000 $38,606 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to FL 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 FL 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 default62nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)63rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted59th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted60th

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 (Janice Ferguson) 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 68 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (K20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $60,531 is reasonable (approximately the 62nd 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.