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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Perennial

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 800638085
MO · NTEE C60
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Katherina Carpenter, Executive Director / CEO ($54,900) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 95 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 43rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

95 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 95 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$487 total compensation of comparable organizations → $818,228 $54,900
$18,94710th
$40,26925th
$59,721Median
$77,60375th
$112,07090th
$54,900This org · 43rd
p10$18,947
p25$40,269
p50$59,721
p75$77,603
p90$112,070
$54,900

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 MO 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
Parking Reform Network OR$347,252 President $30,000 $26,304 2024
Global Inheritance Inc CA$342,197 Executive Di $30,508 $25,607 2023
Oklahoma Energy Education Foundation OK$341,930 Executive Director $17,282 $18,497 2023
Always Choose Adventures CO$350,083 Executive Di $8,100 $7,333 2024
The Kiva Center CO$351,466 Treasurer $59,750 $54,093 2024
The Outside Foundation SC$338,141 Executive Di $45,833 $45,145 2024
Friends Of San Damiano Inc WI$337,155 Director $11,760 $11,596 2024
Biodiversity For A Livable Climate MA$337,077 Executive Di $53,333 $45,249 2024
The Greenhouse Project NV$336,362 Executive Di $36,907 $34,928 2024
Maunalua Fishpond Heritage Center HI$336,176 Executive Di $72,500 $61,285 2024
Sustainable San Mateo County CA$335,463 Executive Director $61,271 $51,428 2023
High Desert Horticultural Center OR$358,304 Nursery Manager $31,603 $27,709 2024
Education Economics Environmental Climate And Heal MS$332,687 Board Member $463 $487 2024
Craters Of The Moon Natural History Asso ID$360,693 Executive Director $62,538 $62,812 2024
Pilsen Enviromental Rights And Reform Organization IL$363,375 President $1,950 $1,810 2024
Eastern Region Association Of Forest And Nature Schools MD$364,438 Executive Director $76,916 $69,899 2023
Life Frames Inc CA$322,566 Executive Dir. $46,170 $38,753 2023
Green Beverly 107q Inc MA$369,863 President $48,000 $40,725 2024
Habitatmap Incorporated NY$370,978 Executive Di $23,000 $19,623 2024
Families In Nature TX$319,367 Executive Dir. $88,838 $83,903 2024
Vermont Wilderness School VT$372,886 Executive Director $70,673 $67,161 2024
Health Professionals For A Healthy MN$317,816 Executive Director $72,359 $67,506 2024
Georgia Arborist Association Inc GA$374,382 Executive Di $74,282 $70,518 2024
Crowe's Nest Farm Inc TX$317,182 Vice Pres $42,000 $40,839 2023
Rep Environmental Education Foundation VA$377,331 President $129,446 $118,005 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MO 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 MO 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 default43rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)37th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted43rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted42nd

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 (Katherina Carpenter) 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 95 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $54,900 is reasonable (approximately the 43rd 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.