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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Save Family Farming

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 812398664
WA · NTEE K20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Ben Tindall, Executive Director / CEO ($86,548) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 49 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 86th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Ben Tindall — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (STARTING MAY 2024)”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

49 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 49 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$59 total compensation of comparable organizations → $176,801 $86,548
$4,01310th
$19,30025th
$51,465Median
$69,93675th
$90,54890th
$86,548This org · 86th
p10$4,013
p25$19,300
p50$51,465
p75$69,936
p90$90,548
$86,548

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 WA 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
Paicines Ranch Learning Center CA$228,466 Director/board $82,725 $82,142 2023
Proctor Farmers Market WA$227,086 Market Manager $68,948 $68,948 2024
Oregon Ag Fest Inc OR$234,516 Executive Di $48,000 $51,259 2023
Foothills Farmers Market NC$222,743 Market Manag $37,760 $43,578 2024
Gathering Ground Inc WI$222,314 Board Member $16,000 $18,664 2024
Project Alianza Inc MA$220,721 Executive Director $88,400 $88,727 2024
The Village Agricultural Cooperative MN$219,056 Ceo $60,385 $68,613 2023
Iglesias Gardens Co PA$218,244 Board Member $5,950 $6,627 2024
Lee County Fair Association IL$217,716 Secretary $3,900 $4,172 2025
Lewis Educational Agricultural Farm CT$217,126 Executive Director $17,900 $19,300 2023
Farm & Community Collaborative Inc MA$243,008 Director $20,833 $21,527 2023
Malibu Agricultural Project's Cornucopia Farms CA$245,656 President $69,785 $67,306 2024
Giving Gardens Of Indiana Inc IN$245,726 Executive Di $31,800 $37,456 2024
Kindness Farm OR$213,995 President $38,961 $41,606 2023
Artisan Cheese Festival CA$245,957 Executive Director $42,000 $40,508 2024
Georgia Minority Outreach GA$211,029 Program Mana $49,820 $57,604 2023
American Iris Society CA$249,334 Registrar $14,400 $13,888 2024
Africulture VA$249,576 Executive Director $13,575 $14,640 2024
E & L Development Foundation Inc MS$250,687 Program Dire $49,500 $61,577 2024
Osamequin Farm Inc MA$255,720 Foundation Mgr. $62,746 $62,978 2024
Honore Farm And Mill CA$203,746 Executive Director $49,087 $48,742 2023
Arizona Junior Rodeo Association Inc AZ$257,254 Secretary Since 9-2023 $3,143 $3,376 2024
South Dakota Agricultural Foundation Inc SD$259,602 Executive Director $102,560 $130,159 2023
Agriinstitute Inc IN$261,554 Executive Director $96,400 $116,900 2023
Michigan Seed Potato Association MI$261,692 Executive Di $58,923 $69,936 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WA 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 WA 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 default86th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)90th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted90th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted84th

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 (Ben Tindall) 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 49 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (K20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $86,548 is reasonable (approximately the 86th 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.