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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Californians For Equal Rights Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 852315151
CA · NTEE R01
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dr Wenyuan Wu, Executive Director / CEO ($157,688) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 40 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 95th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

40 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 40 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$6,097 total compensation of comparable organizations → $237,144 $157,688
$18,31010th
$38,17325th
$72,934Median
$96,22375th
$142,06690th
$157,688This org · 95th
p10$18,310
p25$38,173
p50$72,934
p75$96,223
p90$142,066
$157,688

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
Colorado Democracy Alliance CO$331,875 Executive Director $108,301 $123,816 2023
La Fuerza Nc NC$328,308 Executive Director $26,629 $31,864 2024
Wanton Injustice Legal Detail MN$323,854 Executive Director And President $16,415 $18,784 2024
Unity In Action NE$345,286 Director $68,029 $87,238 2023
Based Politics Inc GA$318,646 Ceo $75,540 $90,559 2023
Iowa Faith And Freedom Coalition IA$304,816 President $99,410 $126,054 2024
Girl Plus Environment Corporation GA$362,679 Executive Director $83,076 $94,243 2025
Diaspora Alliance Inc NY$363,412 President $15,000 $15,697 2024
Investigations Bureau DE$300,171 President And Treasurer $42,373 $51,496 2022
Greater Spokane Progress WA$299,949 Executive Director $63,875 $68,184 2023
Florida Policy Project Inc FL$366,341 Executive Di $52,500 $58,803 2023
Change Illinois IL$369,571 Executive Director $127,880 $141,842 2025
Greater Spokane Action WA$291,825 Executive Dir. $25,028 $26,716 2023
New York Jewish Agenda Inc NY$375,561 Executive Director $137,680 $144,078 2024
Abortion Survivors Network Inc MO$379,252 Ceo Non-voting Board Member $77,000 $94,447 2024
Progress Mo MO$380,637 Executive Di $55,254 $67,773 2024
Ella Baker Center Action Fund CA$283,872 Secretary And Director $12,226 $12,226 2024
Inclusion Nextwork Inc DC$387,840 Executive Director $92,808 $94,316 2024
Future Georgia Inc Dba Georgia Values Action GA$276,804 Chair $136,844 $159,345 2024
Eries Black Wall Street PA$390,139 President Director $45,374 $53,949 2023
American Constitutional Rights Union FL$263,886 President/ceo $22,500 $24,478 2024
Rise Foundation VA$260,769 Executive Di $34,375 $39,572 2023
Race Forward Action Inc NY$408,044 Secretary $35,568 $37,221 2024
Womens Diversity Network Inc NY$411,630 Founder/board Member $83,987 $90,486 2023
Progressnow New Mexico NM$411,737 Executive Di $8,177 $10,486 2023

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 default95th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)98th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted93rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted83rd

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 (Dr Wenyuan Wu) 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 40 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (R01), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $157,688 is reasonable (approximately the 95th 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.