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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

National Grape Research Alliance Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 841709974
CA · NTEE K20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Donnell Brown, Executive Director / CEO ($183,313) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 66 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 98th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

66 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 66 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$61 total compensation of comparable organizations → $188,955 $183,313
$2,76910th
$30,88025th
$60,828Median
$90,35375th
$119,19590th
$183,313This org · 98th
p10$2,769
p25$30,880
p50$60,828
p75$90,353
p90$119,195
$183,313

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 CA 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
Udff Inc FL$350,281 Executive Di $133,622 $145,370 2024
The Potato Leadership Education And DC$350,288 President $52,069 $52,915 2024
Juneberry Ridge Educational Foundation NC$335,998 Education Dir. $76,306 $91,308 2024
Whiting Conservation Cooperative WA$351,185 Executive Director $165,495 $171,591 2024
Yield Lab Institute MO$353,283 Coo $93,624 $114,837 2024
Turfgrass Producers Of Florida Inc FL$331,838 Executive Director $77,367 $84,169 2024
Hilltop Urban Farm PA$329,772 Executive Dir. $85,311 $101,434 2023
Sheep And Goat Validation Of Texas TX$356,980 Director $2,750 $3,280 2023
Mid-atlantic 4r Nutrient MD$324,452 Treasurer $67,770 $73,374 2024
Pennsylvania Dairy Princess & Promotion PA$323,738 Program Director $41,800 $48,274 2024
Houston County Agricultural Society MN$363,282 President $500 $557 2025
The Cornucopia Project Inc NH$369,577 Executive Director $70,975 $78,137 2023
Pacific Nw Csa Coalition OR$371,698 Executive Director $45,626 $49,069 2024
City Fruit WA$376,409 Executive Director (Until 10/2024) $61,873 $64,152 2024
Nordic Mountain Water Inc UT$380,172 President $825 $1,006 2023
Grow Portland OR$381,184 Executive Di $38,834 $41,764 2024
Jk Community Farm VA$382,989 Executive Dir. $84,000 $93,927 2024
Pine County Agricultural Society MN$383,025 President $1,200 $1,338 2025
Low Input Viticulture & Enology Inc OR$300,988 Executive Director $114,872 $123,540 2024
Green Acres Urban Farm And Research Project MO$299,513 Ceo $38,871 $47,678 2024
Waco Downtown Farmers Market TX$299,065 Market Manager $49,920 $57,829 2024
East Farm Commercial Fisheries RI$388,202 Executive Director $102,500 $117,184 2023
Zellwood Water Users Inc FL$297,502 Secretary $60,531 $65,853 2024
Harvest Seed Project Foundation TX$390,355 Secretary $11,548 $13,378 2024
Livingston County Farm Bureau IL$390,754 Manager $99,955 $110,868 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA 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 CA 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 default98th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)100th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted97th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted95th

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 (Donnell Brown) 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 66 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (K20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $183,313 is reasonable (approximately the 98th 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.