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

Chester Agricultural Center Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 832899262
NY · NTEE K99
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sara Katz, Executive Director / CEO ($110,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 34 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 94th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Sara Katz — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

34 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 34 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$13 total compensation of comparable organizations → $190,000 $110,000
$19,73810th
$39,01125th
$55,384Median
$75,73875th
$94,13390th
$110,000This org · 94th
p10$19,738
p25$39,011
p50$55,384
p75$75,738
p90$94,133
$110,000

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 NY 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
Natural Soybean And Grain Alliance Inc AR$277,315 Director $112,400 $139,818 2024
Raleigh City Farm Inc NC$282,282 Executive Director $53,248 $60,887 2024
Hollywood Farmers Market Inc OR$273,190 Interim Market Director $37,583 $39,765 2023
Hillsdale Farmers Market Inc OR$267,831 Manager $44,925 $46,169 2024
Ventura County Farm To School CA$266,589 Executive Di $102,000 $97,471 2024
Chattanooga Food Center TN$266,455 Executive Director $51,000 $61,077 2023
Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society SD$260,683 Executive Director $85,421 $104,328 2024
Mckeesport Meals On Wheels Inc PA$295,500 Coordinator $26,000 $28,693 2024
Mustard Seed - A Community Cafe TX$252,621 Executive Director $48,000 $53,136 2024
Incubator Kitchen Collective KY$307,620 Executive Di $54,546 $64,852 2024
Around The Bend Farms Inc OR$244,619 Director $8,700 $8,941 2024
Del Paso Heights Growers Alliance CA$244,027 Secretary $8,429 $8,055 2024
Fox Valley Food For Health Inc IL$317,807 Executive Di $43,846 $49,112 2023
Marys Kitchen CA$233,459 Chairperson $68,000 $66,900 2023
Michigan Ag Council Inc MI$232,961 Excutive Director $29,311 $33,481 2024
Community Food Initiatives OH$323,073 Past Director $29,162 $34,181 2024
Garfield Community Farm Inc PA$226,257 Executive Director $52,573 $58,019 2024
Grow Jackson MI$332,851 Executive Director $67,388 $76,974 2024
Kcgcusa Inc NY$215,486 Member $15,900 $15,900 2024
The Souper Bowl Of Caring Inc TX$213,452 Executive Di $78,000 $86,346 2024
Our New Way Garden Inc NY$351,174 President $40,000 $40,000 2024
Louisville Grows Incorporated KY$201,786 Former Executive Director $57,743 $68,654 2024
Fertile Groundworks CA$199,551 Executive Director $49,176 $46,992 2024
Outpost Agriculture Inc OR$357,990 President $13 $13 2023
Arkansas Association Of AR$195,930 Program Admin $36,000 $46,104 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY 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 NY 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 default94th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)94th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted94th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted94th

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 (Sara Katz) 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 34 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (K99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $110,000 is reasonable (approximately the 94th 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.