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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

High Desert Horticultural Center

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 934334264
OR · NTEE C60
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Ben Snyder, Executive Director / CEO ($31,603) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 98 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 17th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Ben Snyder — reported title “NURSERY MANAGER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

98 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 98 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$555 total compensation of comparable organizations → $933,208 $31,603
$21,99510th
$49,66225th
$70,064Median
$88,87875th
$119,73290th
$31,603This org · 17th
p10$21,995
p25$49,662
p50$70,064
p75$88,878
p90$119,732
$31,603

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
Craters Of The Moon Natural History Asso ID$360,693 Executive Director $62,538 $71,638 2024
Pilsen Enviromental Rights And Reform Organization IL$363,375 President $1,950 $2,064 2024
Eastern Region Association Of Forest And Nature Schools MD$364,438 Executive Director $76,916 $79,721 2023
The Kiva Center CO$351,466 Treasurer $59,750 $61,695 2024
Always Choose Adventures CO$350,083 Executive Di $8,100 $8,364 2024
Parking Reform Network OR$347,252 President $30,000 $30,000 2024
Green Beverly 107q Inc MA$369,863 President $48,000 $46,447 2024
Perennial MO$345,969 Executive Director $54,900 $62,615 2024
Habitatmap Incorporated NY$370,978 Executive Di $23,000 $22,380 2024
Vermont Wilderness School VT$372,886 Executive Director $70,673 $76,599 2024
Georgia Arborist Association Inc GA$374,382 Executive Di $74,282 $80,427 2024
Global Inheritance Inc CA$342,197 Executive Di $30,508 $29,205 2023
Oklahoma Energy Education Foundation OK$341,930 Executive Director $17,282 $21,097 2023
Rep Environmental Education Foundation VA$377,331 President $129,446 $134,588 2024
Pando Populus Inc CA$377,928 President $112,500 $104,607 2024
The Outside Foundation SC$338,141 Executive Di $45,833 $51,488 2024
Friends Of San Damiano Inc WI$337,155 Director $11,760 $13,225 2024
Biodiversity For A Livable Climate MA$337,077 Executive Di $53,333 $51,608 2024
The Greenhouse Project NV$336,362 Executive Di $36,907 $39,837 2024
Maunalua Fishpond Heritage Center HI$336,176 Executive Di $72,500 $69,896 2024
Strawberry Hill Foundation Inc PA$380,658 Executive Di $71,500 $76,780 2024
Sustainable San Mateo County CA$335,463 Executive Director $61,271 $58,655 2023
Blessed Earth Inc KY$382,900 President $191,959 $222,079 2024
Education Economics Environmental Climate And Heal MS$332,687 Board Member $463 $555 2024
Bees In The D MI$390,684 Vice-president/treasurer $69,735 $79,798 2023

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 default17th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)17th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted17th
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 (Ben Snyder) 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 98 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $31,603 is reasonable (approximately the 17th 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.