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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

California Garden Clubs Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 946083114
CA · NTEE C034
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of George Perko, Executive Director / CEO ($3,600) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 401 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 3rd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

401 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 401 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$581 total compensation of comparable organizations → $478,222 $3,600
$10,35010th
$30,12825th
$57,535Median
$83,39375th
$108,40490th
$3,600This org · 3rd
p10$10,350
p25$30,128
p50$57,535
p75$83,393
p90$108,404
$3,600

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
Keep Polk County Beautiful Inc FL$184,054 Executive Director $66,619 $70,608 2025
Riverside Nature Center Association TX$184,301 Executive Director $50,000 $59,633 2023
Olympic Forest Coalition WA$181,641 Executive Director $13,253 $14,147 2023
Pozo De Agua Inc PR$181,070 President $21,020 $21,020 2024
Lake Worth Lagoon Environmental Defense FL$180,852 Executive Direc $15,701 $17,586 2023
Florida Coastal Conservancy FL$180,492 President $35,250 $38,349 2024
Tosv Inc CA$186,354 President $30,067 $30,067 2024
Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration MI$180,120 Executive Di $20,000 $23,907 2024
Crawford Stewardship Project Ltd WI$179,146 Treasurer $7,358 $9,162 2023
Memory Trees Corporation FL$187,856 Executive Director $11,000 $12,321 2023
Missourians For A Balanced Energy Future MO$188,000 Executive Director $70,000 $85,861 2024
Friends Of Palm Beach Inc FL$188,309 President $60,000 $65,275 2024
Kentucky Heartwood Inc KY$178,102 Executive Di $52,974 $67,857 2023
Green Sports Alliance Foundation OR$188,603 Executive Director $65,368 $72,377 2023
Narrow Ridge Center TN$189,012 Director $31,981 $38,930 2024
Friends Of The Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge OR$177,564 Executive Director $62,820 $67,560 2024
Bangor Land Trust ME$177,543 Executive Di $65,354 $75,786 2024
Friends Of The Shiawassee River MI$177,141 Exec Directo $46,752 $57,535 2023
Epic Institute CA$189,945 Treasurer & Sec $150,138 $154,573 2023
Idaho Association Of Soil Conservation ID$176,628 Executive Director $42,000 $53,271 2023
Rural Land Foundation Of Lincoln MA$176,486 Executive Director $176,952 $184,148 2024
Na Mamo Aloha Aina O Honokohau HI$175,740 Secretary $2,400 $2,488 2024
Friends Of Ansonia Nature Center Inc CT$191,282 Treasurer $2,158 $2,413 2023
Climate Competition Project NC$175,289 Vice Chair/s $4,550 $5,445 2024
Whidbey Environmental Action Network WA$175,262 Executive Director $87,880 $93,808 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 default3rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)3rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted7th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted3rd

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 (George Perko) 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 401 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (C), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $3,600 is reasonable (approximately the 3rd 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.