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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Slow Food Co-denver

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 841575686
CO · NTEE K40
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Lilly Steirer, Executive Director / CEO ($70,781) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 24 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 67th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

24 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 24 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$4,368 total compensation of comparable organizations → $126,789 $70,781
$17,69510th
$38,24225th
$50,540Median
$83,22875th
$102,89590th
$70,781This org · 67th
p10$17,695
p25$38,242
p50$50,540
p75$83,228
p90$102,895
$70,781

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
Harvest House Outreach Inc OK$401,962 Executive Director $41,213 $45,970 2024
Metro Lifestyle Ministries Inc AL$413,219 Secretary-treasurer $9,100 $9,959 2024
Fresh Rx Inc FL$391,890 Secretary $4,590 $4,368 2024
From Farm To Table Inc NY$416,406 Executive Director $108,372 $102,128 2023
Child Development Nutrition Program Inc TX$423,022 President $35,800 $37,347 2023
Farm To Table Buy Local PA$382,446 Executive Director $40,000 $40,406 2024
Gods Gym Inc OK$450,710 President $20,800 $23,200 2024
Community Food Connections Inc AZ$350,794 Executive Director $65,000 $63,322 2024
Its Going To Be Ok Inc TX$456,742 Ceo $14,700 $15,335 2023
Berkeley Student Food Collective CA$460,899 Secretary $58,101 $52,322 2023
Partnership For Food Safety Education Inc OH$344,522 Executive Director $118,175 $126,789 2024
Better Health Better Life Inc MD$465,583 Executive Director $67,472 $63,898 2024
The Peanut Institute Foundation Inc GA$496,841 President $44,286 $45,106 2024
Ifma Educational Foundation IL$498,756 President & Ceo $103,653 $103,224 2024
Healthy Adventures Foundation CA$300,032 Ceo $55,402 $49,891 2023
International Society Of Behavioral NE$509,374 Executive Director $46,983 $51,188 2024
Downtown Napa Farmers Market CA$515,092 Executive Di $94,990 $83,088 2024
The Terrace Foundation CA$520,040 Former Executive Director $42,797 $38,540 2023
Project Milk Mission OH$274,762 President $92,209 $101,852 2023
Suprseed Inc CA$550,576 Pres./exec. Dir $92,004 $80,475 2024
Delaware Restaurant Association DE$551,734 President & Ceo $103,807 $106,002 2023
Project Grows Inc VA$559,898 Executive Di $48,461 $48,798 2023
Cuisine For Healing TX$582,827 Chief Executive Officer $24,316 $24,639 2024
Thrive MI$584,921 Executive Director $80,003 $83,647 2024

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 default67th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)67th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted71st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted58th

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 (Lilly Steirer) 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 24 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (K40), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $70,781 is reasonable (approximately the 67th 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.