Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

California Energy Alliance

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 823040711
CA · NTEE M11
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Joshua Dean, Executive Director / CEO ($109,431) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 335 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 91st percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

335 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 335 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$9 total compensation of comparable organizations → $342,919 $109,431
$1,27010th
$4,39825th
$17,227Median
$64,40275th
$104,71690th
$109,431This org · 91st
p10$1,270
p25$4,398
p50$17,227
p75$64,402
p90$104,716
$109,431

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
Little River Fire Department Inc NC$422,636 Vice President $5,369 $6,425 2023
Fraternal Order Of Police IL$422,207 President $7,150 $8,140 2023
Rebuilding Hope Inc GA$421,993 Executive Director $55,858 $65,043 2023
Pulaski Tri County Fire Department WI$421,774 Chief $17,726 $21,439 2023
Creedmoor Volunteer Fire Department NC$426,446 Assistant Fire Chief $8,400 $10,051 2023
The Saint James Fire Department Incorporated NY$420,150 Treasurer $13,277 $13,495 2024
Yall Squad Incorporated KY$426,692 Director $13,654 $16,988 2023
White Springs Fire Association Inc NY$427,043 Treasurer $9,100 $9,250 2024
Swedesburg Volunteer Fire Company PA$427,580 Board Member $18,740 $21,642 2023
Oakdale Fire Company Inc CT$427,787 Asst Deputy $4,760 $4,891 2025
Northeast First Aid Corps PA$418,644 Administrator $76,455 $85,763 2024
Community911 Training Inc MA$418,434 President & Treasurer $48,166 $50,125 2023
Sarpy County Safety Program Corporation NE$418,354 Treasurer $6,000 $7,473 2023
Franklin Township Fire Dept Inc NC$418,018 Treasurer $4,800 $5,744 2023
Merrick Volunteer Fire Department Inc NY$417,894 Secretary $2,000 $2,093 2023
National Poison Center Foundation VA$428,984 President $3,928 $4,156 2025
Somerton Volunteer Fire Company OH$429,145 Chief $1,846 $2,264 2023
Stroud Township Volunteer Fire PA$429,485 Treasurer $2,400 $2,692 2024
Shoemakersville Fire Company No 1 PA$416,935 President $15,062 $16,896 2024
Pittsford Volunteer Fire NY$416,878 Chief $2,065 $2,099 2024
Grace's Place Inc MO$416,555 Executive Di $81,341 $99,771 2023
Spring Valley Area Emergency Services Corp WI$431,430 Fire Chief $4,000 $4,699 2024
Western Salisbury Volunteer Fire Company PA$432,068 Fire Chief $1,800 $2,019 2024
Recovering Oklahomans After Disaster Inc OK$432,295 President $66,000 $81,748 2024
Bike Utah UT$414,065 Co Exec. Dir $85,373 $98,287 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA cost of living and 2023 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 default91st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)93rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted93rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted88th

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 (Joshua Dean) 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 335 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (M), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $109,431 is reasonable (approximately the 91st 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.