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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Smart Bellies

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 831557278
CO · NTEE K30
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sarah Schmidt, Executive Director / CEO ($35,192) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 89 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 25th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Sarah Schmidt — reported title “CO-FOUNDER &”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

89 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 89 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$525 total compensation of comparable organizations → $127,605 $35,192
$16,81610th
$35,34825th
$52,164Median
$71,88175th
$90,53590th
$35,192This org · 25th
p10$16,816
p25$35,348
p50$52,164
p75$71,881
p90$90,535
$35,192

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 CO 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
Community Green Farms KS$406,662 Executive Director $99,875 $109,298 2024
Columbia Farmers Market Inc MO$411,034 Executive Director $60,760 $65,189 2024
Bigger Table IL$411,341 Executive Director $47,917 $47,718 2024
Morrison County Food Shelf MN$412,464 Executive Director $30,188 $30,216 2024
Beef Bank Colorado Inc CO$388,431 Secretary $65,000 $63,135 2024
Mozell Sanders Foundation Inc IN$388,022 Ceo Director $18,500 $19,762 2024
Fork Over Love Inc PA$418,981 Director/ceo $72,000 $72,731 2024
Turnaround Resource Center Inc KY$420,228 Executive Dir. $36,217 $39,415 2024
Village Project OH$383,922 Executive Director $58,195 $62,436 2024
Human Agricultural Cooperative Inc IN$421,173 President $1,000 $1,100 2023
Fundamental Needs CO$383,569 Executive Director $37,170 $37,170 2023
The Harbor Dish Inc FL$425,017 Director $36,663 $34,888 2024
Northeast Florida Builders Association Charitable Foundation FL$427,536 Executive Director $133,500 $127,039 2024
Sts Francis And Alphonsus MO$428,064 President $45,422 $48,733 2024
Evloves Llc NY$429,917 Executive Director $71,733 $65,660 2024
Harrison Food Bank ME$437,220 Treasurer $52,000 $52,745 2024
Knock And Drop Iowa IA$439,073 Executive Di $6,125 $6,994 2023
Dwelling House Of Hope Inc MA$446,937 Executive Director $79,040 $74,073 2023
Feeding Children International MN$357,553 Secretary/tr $97,100 $97,189 2024
Above Par Academy Inc TX$450,000 Director $4,800 $4,863 2024
Purple Hearts Inc TX$354,196 Director $40,504 $42,254 2023
Farming 4 Hunger Inc MD$353,474 President $75,000 $71,027 2024
Dimitri House Inc NY$454,829 Executive Dir. $70,000 $64,074 2024
Amor Healing Kitchen Inc SC$349,724 Executive Di $68,019 $71,881 2024
La Clinica Del Pueblo CO$349,370 Program Director $23,675 $23,675 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CO 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 CO 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 default25th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)26th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted26th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted22nd

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 (Sarah Schmidt) 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 89 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (K30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $35,192 is reasonable (approximately the 25th 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.