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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Old Marbach School Water Supply

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 742895955
TX · NTEE K20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Cheryl Lame, Executive Director / CEO ($28,969) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 65 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 28th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

65 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 65 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$53 total compensation of comparable organizations → $158,242 $28,969
$2,90710th
$19,26825th
$49,283Median
$74,49475th
$103,24090th
$28,969This org · 28th
p10$2,907
p25$19,268
p50$49,283
p75$74,494
p90$103,240
$28,969

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
Thimbleberry Collaborative Farm OR$277,743 Exec Dir $49,433 $47,247 2023
Nicollet County Agricultural Society MN$267,949 Exec Secretary $1,375 $1,358 2024
North Carolina Watermelon NC$264,826 Exec Directo $25,060 $25,886 2024
Michigan Seed Potato Association MI$261,692 Executive Di $58,923 $62,595 2023
Agriinstitute Inc IN$261,554 Executive Director $96,400 $104,629 2023
South Dakota Agricultural Foundation Inc SD$259,602 Executive Director $102,560 $116,495 2023
Pineville Water Association MS$288,362 President $1,750 $1,948 2024
Arizona Junior Rodeo Association Inc AZ$257,254 Secretary Since 9-2023 $3,143 $3,022 2024
Osamequin Farm Inc MA$255,720 Foundation Mgr. $62,746 $56,367 2024
Ohio County & Independent Agricultural Societies OH$292,228 President $50 $53 2024
Community Gardens Of Tucson Inc AZ$294,402 Executive Dir. $51,260 $49,283 2024
E & L Development Foundation Inc MS$250,687 Program Dire $49,500 $55,113 2024
Africulture VA$249,576 Executive Director $13,575 $13,103 2024
American Iris Society CA$249,334 Registrar $14,400 $12,431 2024
Zellwood Water Users Inc FL$297,502 Secretary $60,531 $56,847 2024
Waco Downtown Farmers Market TX$299,065 Market Manager $49,920 $49,920 2024
Green Acres Urban Farm And Research Project MO$299,513 Ceo $38,871 $41,158 2024
Artisan Cheese Festival CA$245,957 Executive Director $42,000 $36,256 2024
Giving Gardens Of Indiana Inc IN$245,726 Executive Di $31,800 $33,525 2024
Malibu Agricultural Project's Cornucopia Farms CA$245,656 President $69,785 $60,241 2024
Low Input Viticulture & Enology Inc OR$300,988 Executive Director $114,872 $106,643 2024
Farm & Community Collaborative Inc MA$243,008 Director $20,833 $19,268 2023
Oregon Ag Fest Inc OR$234,516 Executive Di $48,000 $45,878 2023
Save Family Farming WA$229,935 Executive Director (Starting May 2024) $86,548 $77,463 2024
Paicines Ranch Learning Center CA$228,466 Director/board $82,725 $73,520 2023

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 default28th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)28th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted31st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted28th

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 (Cheryl Lame) 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 65 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (K20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $28,969 is reasonable (approximately the 28th 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.