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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Potato Leadership Education And

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 843933797
DC · NTEE K20
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of William K Quarles, Executive Director / CEO ($52,069) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 65 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 40th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: William K Quarles — reported title “President”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

65 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 65 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$60 total compensation of comparable organizations → $185,934 $52,069
$2,62310th
$29,50725th
$62,825Median
$89,84875th
$120,64790th
$52,069This org · 40th
p10$2,623
p25$29,507
p50$62,825
p75$89,848
p90$120,647
$52,069

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 DC 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 $143,047 2024
Whiting Conservation Cooperative WA$351,185 Executive Director $165,495 $168,848 2024
Yield Lab Institute MO$353,283 Coo $93,624 $113,002 2024
Sheep And Goat Validation Of Texas TX$356,980 Director $2,750 $3,227 2023
National Grape Research Alliance Inc CA$343,146 President $183,313 $180,383 2024
Houston County Agricultural Society MN$363,282 President $500 $548 2025
Juneberry Ridge Educational Foundation NC$335,998 Education Dir. $76,306 $89,848 2024
Turfgrass Producers Of Florida Inc FL$331,838 Executive Director $77,367 $82,824 2024
The Cornucopia Project Inc NH$369,577 Executive Director $70,975 $76,888 2023
Hilltop Urban Farm PA$329,772 Executive Dir. $85,311 $99,812 2023
Pacific Nw Csa Coalition OR$371,698 Executive Director $45,626 $48,284 2024
Mid-atlantic 4r Nutrient MD$324,452 Treasurer $67,770 $72,201 2024
City Fruit WA$376,409 Executive Director (Until 10/2024) $61,873 $63,126 2024
Pennsylvania Dairy Princess & Promotion PA$323,738 Program Director $41,800 $47,502 2024
Nordic Mountain Water Inc UT$380,172 President $825 $990 2023
Grow Portland OR$381,184 Executive Di $38,834 $41,097 2024
Jk Community Farm VA$382,989 Executive Dir. $84,000 $92,425 2024
Pine County Agricultural Society MN$383,025 President $1,200 $1,316 2025
East Farm Commercial Fisheries RI$388,202 Executive Director $102,500 $115,311 2023
Harvest Seed Project Foundation TX$390,355 Secretary $11,548 $13,164 2024
Livingston County Farm Bureau IL$390,754 Manager $99,955 $109,096 2025
Associated Water Users Of The Uinta And UT$394,923 River Commissioner $73,000 $85,141 2024
Altaseads Conservancy Dba CA$398,003 President $41,667 $41,001 2024
San Joaquin Valley Quality CA$399,154 Executive V.p. $15,600 $15,804 2023
Low Input Viticulture & Enology Inc OR$300,988 Executive Director $114,872 $121,565 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to DC 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 DC 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 default40th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)49th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted98th

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 (William K Quarles) 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 65 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (K20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $52,069 is reasonable (approximately the 40th 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.