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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Green Mountain Conservation Group

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 020498020
NH · NTEE C300
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Matthew Howe, Executive Director / CEO ($71,725) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 106 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 63rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Matthew Howe — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

106 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 106 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,720 total compensation of comparable organizations → $167,268 $71,725
$14,22410th
$34,76725th
$62,996Median
$81,27875th
$95,65490th
$71,725This org · 63rd
p10$14,224
p25$34,767
p50$62,996
p75$81,278
p90$95,654
$71,725

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 NH 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
Missouri State Parks Foundation Inc MO$240,020 Executive Director $75,460 $84,074 2024
Sierra County Land Trust CA$241,176 Secretary/tr $36,000 $32,700 2024
Action Center Inc PA$242,260 Executive Director $58,933 $63,648 2023
Colorado Native Plant Society CO$243,936 - $60,962 $63,307 2023
Methow Valley Trails Collaborative WA$244,446 Executive Director $51,076 $48,103 2024
Indigenous Peoples Council For AK$244,580 Executive Dir. $57,830 $58,159 2024
Communitopia PA$233,566 Executive Dir. $60,853 $63,836 2024
Friends Of The Mariana Trench MP$245,976 Executive Dir. $45,866 $44,550 2024
Transformers Foundation Inc NY$246,889 Executive Director $20,000 $19,011 2024
Iowa Interfaith Power And Light IA$247,131 Exe Director $76,354 $87,943 2024
Southwest Idaho Resource Conservation ID$247,600 Member $1,493 $1,720 2023
Passivhausmaine ME$231,619 Executive Director $72,995 $79,159 2023
Conservation Council For Hawaii HI$247,699 Exectuvie Di $75,000 $70,634 2024
Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center I NY$231,005 President/founder $92,223 $93,952 2022
Willowbrook Economic Development IL$249,001 Executive Dir. $92,520 $93,214 2025
Wisconsin Association Of Lakes Inc WI$249,630 Executive Director $71,436 $80,797 2023
Nevada Preservation Foundation NV$250,283 President $12,375 $13,049 2024
Bull Run Mountains Conservancy Inc VA$228,778 Executive Director $127,013 $125,679 2025
Energy & Conservation Law CO$225,726 Executive Dir. $132,385 $133,533 2024
People And Pollinators Action CO$253,840 Executive Di $63,585 $64,136 2024
The New Nature Foundation PA$225,354 President $59,000 $61,892 2024
Lake Erie Islands Conservancy OH$255,106 Chair $16,000 $17,826 2024
Harris Ranch Wildlife Mitigation Association Inc ID$256,059 Conservation Director $53,856 $60,266 2024
Riverwood Nature Center Inc WI$223,054 President $18,862 $20,722 2024
Water Climate Trust CA$256,351 Executive Director $81,000 $75,749 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NH 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 NH 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 default63rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)67th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted68th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted61st

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 (Matthew Howe) 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 106 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $71,725 is reasonable (approximately the 63rd 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.