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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Japanese Garden Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 931315647
OR · NTEE C11
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Stephen D Bloom, Executive Director / CEO ($21,568) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 16 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 0th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Stephen D Bloom — reported title “BOARD PRESIDENT”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

16 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 16 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$28,967 total compensation of comparable organizations → $135,241 $21,568
$38,78110th
$56,27925th
$66,243Median
$111,19375th
$116,67590th
$21,568This org · 0th
p10$38,781
p25$56,279
p50$66,243
p75$111,193
p90$116,675
$21,568

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 OR 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
Nashville Parks Foundation TN$366,532 President & Ceo $55,000 $64,093 2023
Vermont Community Garden Network Inc VT$353,876 Co Executive Director $62,438 $67,673 2024
Western Rivers Forestry OR$330,485 President $56,937 $58,619 2023
Iowa Stormwater Education Partnership IA$324,644 Executive Dir. $97,999 $115,546 2024
Nola Tree Project LA$312,729 Director $89,963 $109,822 2023
Bay Area Clean Air Foundation CA$408,967 President $69,702 $64,812 2024
John T Waterhouse Te Co-tr Tropical HI$418,653 Co-trustee $29,184 $28,967 2023
Oyster River Ecology Inc FL$429,245 Executive Director $117,000 $115,306 2025
Alliance For Flushing Meadows Corona NY$435,619 Executive Director $63,607 $61,893 2024
Friends Of Silver Lake Nature Center PA$270,903 Program Director $32,683 $35,097 2024
Friends Of The Childrens Eternal Rainforest MO$266,547 Executive Director $41,950 $49,258 2023
Lake Mcmurtry Friends Inc OK$474,819 Executive Director $80,000 $92,413 2025
Building Material Thrift Inc ID$482,808 Executive Manager $71,547 $81,958 2024
The National Bonsai Foundation DC$488,837 Executive Director $143,120 $135,241 2024
Ccc Foundation CA$510,099 Exec Director $126,692 $117,803 2024
Friends Of Robinson Gardens Inc CA$520,994 Co-treasurer $45,669 $42,465 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to OR 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 OR 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 default0th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)0th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted94th

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 (Stephen D Bloom) 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 16 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C11), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $21,568 is reasonable (approximately the 0th 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.