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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Friends Of Sausal Creek

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 912147216
CA · NTEE C32
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Anna Marie Schmidt, Executive Director / CEO ($65,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 74 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 42nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Anna Marie Schmidt — reported title “EXEC DIRECTO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

74 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 74 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,303 total compensation of comparable organizations → $171,932 $65,000
$12,57810th
$49,17125th
$76,271Median
$93,69075th
$126,11990th
$65,000This org · 42nd
p10$12,578
p25$49,171
p50$76,271
p75$93,690
p90$126,119
$65,000

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
Heart Of The Lakes Ctr For Land Cons MI$305,789 Executive Dir. $102,862 $119,427 2024
Lake Merritt Institute CA$308,288 Executive Director $81,872 $77,473 2025
Professional Training Association WA$302,967 Executive Director $111,400 $112,189 2024
Freshwaters Illustrated Inc OR$310,842 Staff Director $73,357 $76,628 2024
Friends Of The White River Inc IN$301,798 Executive Director $75,522 $92,232 2023
White River Partnership Inc VT$299,632 Executive Director $65,126 $75,913 2023
Agricultural Drainage Management Coalition Inc IA$299,322 Executive Director $118,551 $146,012 2024
Alpine Watershed Group CA$316,148 Executive Dir. $56,927 $55,294 2024
Rozalia Project VT$294,533 Executive Di $75,728 $85,738 2024
Lake Of The Ozarks Watershed Allian MO$290,092 Executive Di $92,973 $110,767 2024
Michigan Municipal Wetland Alliance Inc MI$324,309 Executive Director $52,008 $60,383 2024
Peconic Baykeeper Inc NY$327,883 Executive Di $123,903 $125,940 2024
Northwoods Wildlife Center WI$328,808 Vice Preside $5,000 $6,800 2021
Friends Of The Eel River CA$331,549 Secretary (Non Voting) $78,203 $78,203 2023
Western Water Conservation CA$332,382 Director $8,925 $8,925 2023
Upper Delaware Council Inc NY$332,834 Executive Director $65,457 $66,533 2024
Bitterroot Water Partnership MT$332,971 Executive Director $81,500 $101,739 2023
South Santiam Watershed Council OR$332,988 Executive Director $81,250 $84,874 2024
North Santiam Watershed Council OR$334,896 Executive Director $79,049 $80,446 2025
San Marcos River Foundation TX$334,909 Executive Director $52,830 $59,444 2024
Maine Lakes Society ME$336,391 Executive Di $76,106 $85,723 2024
Wyoming Wetland Society WY$338,401 Program Director $50,071 $62,092 2023
Project41 CA$273,056 Ceo $101,400 $98,491 2024
Harney County Watershed Council Inc OR$270,607 Coordinator $52,250 $56,192 2023
Malama Na Apapa HI$265,256 Director $10,000 $12,208 2020

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA 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 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 default42nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)43rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted43rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted42nd

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 (Anna Marie Schmidt) 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 74 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C32), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $65,000 is reasonable (approximately the 42nd 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.