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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Highwater Farm

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 843715918
CO · NTEE O52
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sara Tymczyszyn, Executive Director / CEO ($46,154) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 17 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 29th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

17 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 17 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,126 total compensation of comparable organizations → $161,147 $46,154
$15,58810th
$37,27525th
$72,043Median
$86,14575th
$104,51190th
$46,154This org · 29th
p10$15,588
p25$37,275
p50$72,043
p75$86,145
p90$104,511
$46,154

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
Soul Food Project Inc IN$473,934 Executive Director $54,308 $59,727 2024
Queen Creek Junior Rodeo Association Inc AZ$490,192 Secretary $4,800 $4,814 2024
Turn Back Time Inc MA$498,385 President/tr $39,775 $37,275 2024
Missouri Farm Bureau Foundation For MO$461,373 Cfo/treasurer $84,741 $96,368 2023
Northeast Ohio 4-h Camps Inc OH$508,882 Executive Director $81,566 $92,757 2023
National 4-h Congress Foundation DC$441,321 President And Ceo(as Of 08/23) $63,802 $58,389 2024
The Wisconsin Ffa Foundation Inc WI$526,075 Executive Director $67,626 $73,655 2024
Idaho Ffa Foundation Inc ID$577,331 Executive Director $65,808 $73,008 2024
Indigenous Regeneration CA$384,863 Secretary/interim Treasurer $67,820 $62,878 2023
Ncha Charities Foundation TX$582,992 Executive Dir. $154,472 $161,147 2024
Michigan Ffa Foundation MI$352,133 Executive Director $21,154 $22,771 2024
Prairie Loft Center NE$352,001 Executive Di $76,800 $86,145 2024
Worcester County 4-h Center Inc MA$643,586 Director $31,540 $30,431 2023
Seattle Childrens Playgarden WA$693,589 Executive Dir. $125,014 $116,726 2024
Nebraska Vocational Agricultural NE$696,437 Executive Di $74,170 $85,653 2023
Family Career And Community Leaders Of America Inc CA$704,720 Fcs Teacher Association President $1,250 $1,126 2024
4 Elements Earth Education Inc CA$717,379 Executive Dir. $80,000 $72,043 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 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 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 default29th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)29th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted41st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted29th

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 Tymczyszyn) 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 17 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (O52), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $46,154 is reasonable (approximately the 29th 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.