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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Kulaiwi Land Trust

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 922383824
HI · NTEE S99
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Kawika Burgess, Executive Director / CEO ($18,750) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 50 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 16th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Kawika Burgess — reported title “Interim Executive Director-CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

50 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 50 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,489 total compensation of comparable organizations → $280,263 $18,750
$8,06910th
$28,83525th
$54,689Median
$80,32175th
$113,90190th
$18,750This org · 16th
p10$8,069
p25$28,835
p50$54,689
p75$80,321
p90$113,901
$18,750

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 HI 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
Integrative Development Initiative CA$205,875 2023 Cfo & Food Cycle Collective Co-coordinator $2,581 $2,489 2023
Built2last Innovations Lab Inc NC$203,953 Executive Director $119,439 $137,844 2023
Buffalo Reuse Inc NY$207,027 President $8,378 $8,214 2024
Detroit Greenways Coalition MI$207,038 Executive Director $50,000 $57,643 2023
Societa Mutuo Socorso Enrico Caruso In Manville Ri RI$202,411 Treasurer $6,300 $6,747 2023
Takotna Community Association AK$208,523 Secretary $10,500 $10,891 2024
Habitat For Neighborhood Business MO$209,384 Executive Director $26,250 $30,163 2024
Citizens4community OR$200,555 Executive Director $78,056 $78,641 2024
Venture Carolina SC$199,622 Executive Director $5,400 $6,112 2024
Westside Rising IL$212,744 Executive Dir. $44,872 $47,860 2024
Rebuilding Together Central Alabama AL$195,730 Executive Director $65,000 $76,183 2024
Leadmo MO$194,877 Executive Director $39,229 $45,077 2024
Enterprise Development & Management Corp IN$194,491 Board Member $3,600 $4,240 2023
Friends Inc AL$219,008 Executive Director $57,500 $69,383 2023
For A Loving Future CA$187,464 Ceo $107,950 $98,521 2025
International Foundation For Cultural CO$223,551 First Vp $6,500 $6,762 2024
Vermont Council Of Special Education VT$223,586 Executive Dir. $26,000 $27,659 2025
The Freedom Foundation Of Minnesota MN$225,040 Ceo, Secretary, Treasurer $110,000 $121,402 2023
Glover Park Alliance DC$227,283 Executive Director $92,942 $88,484 2024
Roots & Dreams And Mustard Seeds Inc MA$231,240 President, Co-director $44,044 $42,938 2024
Pride In Saginaw Inc MI$174,966 Director $44,511 $48,559 2025
Plaza Terrace Mutual Housing CT$235,418 Executive Director $31,395 $32,878 2023
The Hydrous CA$238,045 Ceo $84,000 $78,692 2024
Chittenden County Senior Citizens Alliance Inc VT$163,408 Executive Director $47,840 $52,239 2024
Main Street Lexington VA$161,200 Executive Di $64,080 $67,125 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to HI 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 HI 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 default16th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)16th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted24th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted16th

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 (Kawika Burgess) 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 50 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $18,750 is reasonable (approximately the 16th 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.