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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Salt & Light Council

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 800431655
CA · NTEE R40
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dran Reese, Executive Director / CEO ($24,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 27 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 19th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

27 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 27 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$5,021 total compensation of comparable organizations → $141,136 $24,000
$15,83810th
$38,16825th
$84,341Median
$102,25175th
$129,01790th
$24,000This org · 19th
p10$15,838
p25$38,168
p50$84,341
p75$102,251
p90$129,017
$24,000

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 CA 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
Radical Registrars TX$273,339 Executive Dir. $87,278 $103,781 2024
Adrc Action AZ$273,917 Co-executive Director, Programs $109,925 $129,380 2023
New Voters Org PA$262,872 President $64,167 $76,066 2024
Progress Texas Institute TX$259,130 Executive Director $110,426 $131,306 2024
Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Inc MA$279,590 Interim Executive Director $13,388 $14,301 2024
Massachusetts Voter Education Network Inc MA$280,447 Executive Director $132,125 $141,136 2024
The Washington Bus WA$253,250 Executive Director $108,760 $119,168 2023
Keystone Progress Education Fund PA$253,066 Executive Di $81,923 $99,982 2023
New North Carolina Project Action First NC$288,251 Chief Executive Officer $13,408 $16,469 2024
Ruralorganizingorg OH$243,351 Executive Director $52,500 $68,052 2023
Good Deed Corps CA$298,904 President $36,250 $37,209 2024
League Of Women Voters Lotte E MA$238,887 Executive Director $91,584 $100,720 2023
Polichic Engagement Fund TX$305,121 Founder $36,714 $44,946 2023
League Of Women Voters Of Massachusetts MA$222,227 Executive Director $91,584 $100,720 2023
One Nation Under God OH$213,748 Assistant Treas $16,875 $21,874 2023
Stand Up Indiana Inc IN$213,136 Eecutive Dir $11,538 $14,891 2023
Alliance For A Better Iowa IA$327,518 Executive Director $69,486 $90,440 2024
Stand Up Alaska AK$206,914 Executive Dir. $38,500 $43,755 2024
Alliance For A Better Utah Inc UT$205,168 Executive Director $55,050 $66,976 2024
Deeds Action Fund TX$203,855 Temp Executive Director $24,063 $28,613 2024
The Ring Of Democracy Incorporated CA$334,565 President $37,025 $39,127 2023
League Of Women Voters Of Colorado CO$335,166 Executive Director $83,573 $95,259 2024
Kansas Civic Engagement Table KS$186,631 Executive Director $71,000 $93,872 2023
Coalition Porfor Texas TX$351,902 Executive Director $100,000 $118,909 2024
Utah Ranked Choice Voting UT$373,563 Executive Dir. $102,810 $128,775 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA cost of living and 2025 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 CA 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 default19th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)19th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted19th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted15th

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 (Dran Reese) 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 27 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (R40), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $24,000 is reasonable (approximately the 19th 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.