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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Yield Lab Institute

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 822282693
MO · NTEE K20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Brandon Day, Executive Director / CEO ($93,624) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 66 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: Brandon Day — reported title “COO”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

66 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 66 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$50 total compensation of comparable organizations → $154,050 $93,624
$2,25710th
$25,17525th
$51,583Median
$74,28975th
$99,76890th
$93,624This org · 86th
p10$2,257
p25$25,175
p50$51,583
p75$74,289
p90$99,768
$93,624

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
Whiting Conservation Cooperative WA$351,185 Executive Director $165,495 $139,894 2024
The Potato Leadership Education And DC$350,288 President $52,069 $43,140 2024
Udff Inc FL$350,281 Executive Di $133,622 $118,517 2024
Sheep And Goat Validation Of Texas TX$356,980 Director $2,750 $2,674 2023
Houston County Agricultural Society MN$363,282 President $500 $454 2025
National Grape Research Alliance Inc CA$343,146 President $183,313 $149,451 2024
The Cornucopia Project Inc NH$369,577 Executive Director $70,975 $63,703 2023
Juneberry Ridge Educational Foundation NC$335,998 Education Dir. $76,306 $74,441 2024
Pacific Nw Csa Coalition OR$371,698 Executive Director $45,626 $40,004 2024
Turfgrass Producers Of Florida Inc FL$331,838 Executive Director $77,367 $68,621 2024
City Fruit WA$376,409 Executive Director (Until 10/2024) $61,873 $52,301 2024
Hilltop Urban Farm PA$329,772 Executive Dir. $85,311 $82,696 2023
Nordic Mountain Water Inc UT$380,172 President $825 $820 2023
Grow Portland OR$381,184 Executive Di $38,834 $34,049 2024
Mid-atlantic 4r Nutrient MD$324,452 Treasurer $67,770 $59,820 2024
Pennsylvania Dairy Princess & Promotion PA$323,738 Program Director $41,800 $39,356 2024
Jk Community Farm VA$382,989 Executive Dir. $84,000 $76,576 2024
Pine County Agricultural Society MN$383,025 President $1,200 $1,091 2025
East Farm Commercial Fisheries RI$388,202 Executive Director $102,500 $95,537 2023
Harvest Seed Project Foundation TX$390,355 Secretary $11,548 $10,906 2024
Livingston County Farm Bureau IL$390,754 Manager $99,955 $90,388 2025
Associated Water Users Of The Uinta And UT$394,923 River Commissioner $73,000 $70,541 2024
Altaseads Conservancy Dba CA$398,003 President $41,667 $33,970 2024
San Joaquin Valley Quality CA$399,154 Executive V.p. $15,600 $13,094 2023
Low Input Viticulture & Enology Inc OR$300,988 Executive Director $114,872 $100,719 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 default86th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)85th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted86th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted83rd

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 (Brandon Day) 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 66 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (K20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $93,624 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.