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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

San Marcos River Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 742428376
TX · NTEE C320
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Virginia Parker, Executive Director / CEO ($52,830) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 82 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 24th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

82 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 82 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,046 total compensation of comparable organizations → $152,802 $52,830
$13,50210th
$53,44425th
$73,833Median
$89,02875th
$111,82490th
$52,830This org · 24th
p10$13,502
p25$53,444
p50$73,833
p75$89,028
p90$111,824
$52,830

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 TX 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
North Santiam Watershed Council OR$334,896 Executive Director $79,049 $71,494 2025
Maine Lakes Society ME$336,391 Executive Di $76,106 $76,184 2024
South Santiam Watershed Council OR$332,988 Executive Director $81,250 $75,430 2024
Bitterroot Water Partnership MT$332,971 Executive Director $81,500 $90,419 2023
Upper Delaware Council Inc NY$332,834 Executive Director $65,457 $59,130 2024
Western Water Conservation CA$332,382 Director $8,925 $7,932 2023
Friends Of The Eel River CA$331,549 Secretary (Non Voting) $78,203 $69,501 2023
Wyoming Wetland Society WY$338,401 Program Director $50,071 $55,183 2023
Northwoods Wildlife Center WI$328,808 Vice Preside $5,000 $6,043 2021
Peconic Baykeeper Inc NY$327,883 Executive Di $123,903 $111,927 2024
Michigan Municipal Wetland Alliance Inc MI$324,309 Executive Director $52,008 $53,664 2024
Alpine Watershed Group CA$316,148 Executive Dir. $56,927 $49,141 2024
Freshwaters Illustrated Inc OR$310,842 Staff Director $73,357 $68,102 2024
Watershed Alliance Of WA$360,058 Executive Director $88,609 $79,308 2024
The Pomperaug River Watershed CT$360,277 Executive Di $67,628 $63,389 2024
Coachella Valley Irrigated Lands Coalition Inc CA$361,310 Executive Director $13,839 $11,946 2024
Lake Merritt Institute CA$308,288 Executive Director $81,872 $68,853 2025
Friends Of Sausal Creek CA$306,596 Exec Directo $65,000 $57,768 2023
Heart Of The Lakes Ctr For Land Cons MI$305,789 Executive Dir. $102,862 $106,138 2024
Little River Wetlands Project Inc IN$364,403 2023 Exec Di $71,023 $77,086 2023
Professional Training Association WA$302,967 Executive Director $111,400 $99,706 2024
Friends Of The White River Inc IN$301,798 Executive Director $75,522 $81,970 2023
Iowa Drainage District Association IA$370,156 Executive Dir. $119,911 $127,871 2025
White River Partnership Inc VT$299,632 Executive Director $65,126 $67,466 2023
Agricultural Drainage Management Coalition Inc IA$299,322 Executive Director $118,551 $129,765 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TX 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 TX 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 default24th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)28th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted26th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted24th

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 (Virginia Parker) 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 82 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C32), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $52,830 is reasonable (approximately the 24th 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.