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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Utopian Seed Project Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 833696014
NC · NTEE K05
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Chris Smith, Executive Director / CEO ($69,639) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 337 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 82nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

337 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 337 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$50 total compensation of comparable organizations → $171,847 $69,639
$9,52410th
$25,16425th
$43,147Median
$59,94975th
$81,85890th
$69,639This org · 82nd
p10$9,524
p25$25,164
p50$43,147
p75$59,949
p90$81,858
$69,639

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 NC 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
5loaves2fishnmi MI$235,864 Secretary $15,000 $14,555 2024
Astoria Food Pantry Inc NY$235,826 Board Member $3,000 $2,624 2023
Fundacion Yo Puedo Inc PR$235,670 President $2,395 $2,326 2024
Musically Fed AZ$236,845 Executive Director - Founder $84,500 $76,393 2024
Dig In Yancey Community Garden NC$236,988 Executive Director $44,972 $43,682 2024
Oregon Ag Fest Inc OR$234,516 Executive Di $48,000 $43,140 2023
Northwest Mutual Aid Collective Inc PA$233,724 Executive Director $70,901 $68,429 2023
Shelbyville Community Soup Kitchen TN$237,980 Employee $41,100 $40,612 2024
Table Of Plenty Hmb CA$238,096 Executive Director $49,154 $41,078 2023
Marys Kitchen CA$233,459 Chairperson $68,000 $56,828 2023
Living Stones PA$233,220 Executive Di $51,000 $47,810 2024
Seven Loaves Soup Kitchen Inc PA$233,043 Mission Coordinator $12,000 $11,250 2024
Michigan Ag Council Inc MI$232,961 Excutive Director $29,311 $28,440 2024
Nederland Farmers Market CO$238,911 Executive Director $30,000 $27,041 2024
Northern Colorado Foodshed Project CO$232,647 Executive Director $41,947 $37,811 2024
Your Neighbor's House TX$239,093 Executive Director $44,992 $43,557 2023
Sfmv Inc FL$232,360 Market Manager $44,136 $45,117 2021
Travelers Rest Farmers Market SC$239,400 Executive Di $46,686 $45,785 2024
Lawrence Community Food Alliance KS$240,012 Executive Di $43,260 $50,856 2021
Reidsville Soup Kitchen Inc NC$240,435 Treasurer $5,710 $5,546 2024
Table For Two Usa NY$240,702 President $54,000 $47,225 2023
Cultivate Abundance Inc FL$230,805 Executive Di $113,910 $100,593 2024
Katie's Krops SC$241,388 President $48,000 $50,451 2022
The Preservery Foundation CO$241,628 Executive Director $110,000 $99,152 2024
Save Family Farming WA$229,935 Executive Director (Starting May 2024) $86,548 $72,841 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NC 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 NC 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 default82nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)78th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted80th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted79th

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 (Chris Smith) 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 337 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (K), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $69,639 is reasonable (approximately the 82nd 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.