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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Idea Store Creative Reuse Center

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 825475035
IL · NTEE C27
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Christa Weiss, Executive Director / CEO ($33,663) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 18 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 39th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Christa Weiss — reported title “Manager”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

18 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 18 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$5,205 total compensation of comparable organizations → $173,866 $33,663
$11,24510th
$21,47925th
$42,414Median
$68,39275th
$88,38690th
$33,663This org · 39th
p10$11,245
p25$21,479
p50$42,414
p75$68,392
p90$88,386
$33,663

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 IL 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
Bella Vista Recycling Foundation AR$261,197 Director $43,400 $49,622 2023
Cwmu Association UT$259,051 Secretary $5,000 $5,205 2023
Kanu Hawaii HI$257,751 Executive Director $64,996 $57,492 2024
Methow Recycles WA$291,962 Executive Director $29,913 $26,460 2024
Habits Of Waste CA$307,102 Founder, Director, President, Ed $133,943 $114,271 2024
Bowling Green Recycling Center Inc OH$234,872 Chairman $11,045 $11,558 2024
The Recyclery Collective IL$227,204 Director / Programming Coordinator $20,403 $19,818 2024
Bk Rot Inc NY$319,398 Executive Director $82,810 $72,025 2025
Maine Resource Recovery Association ME$223,731 Executive Di $54,674 $52,696 2025
Cement Kiln Recycling Coalition VA$322,206 Executive Director $177,030 $173,866 2023
Keuka Lake Association NY$218,784 Secretary $19,703 $17,591 2024
People For Urban Progress Inc IN$215,173 Executive Director $52,911 $55,128 2024
Regenerative Education Centers Inc HI$203,725 Pres/executi $39,800 $35,205 2024
Deidox Films Inc CA$194,842 Chair/executive Director $88,000 $77,293 2023
Reuse It Center Inc KS$365,928 Director $31,468 $34,580 2023
Recreative Denver CO$372,240 Executive Director $10,780 $10,514 2023
Wachusett Earthday Incorporated MA$372,421 Executive Di $34,616 $30,733 2024
Carolina Recycling Association SC$389,773 Executive Di $73,079 $75,323 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL 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 IL 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 default39th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)39th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted39th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted39th

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 (Christa Weiss) 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 18 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C27), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $33,663 is reasonable (approximately the 39th 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.