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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Renewable Energy Vermont Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 030364592
VT · NTEE S41
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 10, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Peter Sterling, Executive Director / CEO ($125,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 533 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 66th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Peter Sterling — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

533 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 533 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $421,904 $125,000
$33,26710th
$66,44625th
$97,356Median
$143,03275th
$197,73690th
$125,000This org · 66th
p10$33,267
p25$66,446
p50$97,356
p75$143,032
p90$197,736
$125,000

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 VT 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
Town Of Los Gatos Chamber Of Commerce CA$490,915 Exe Dir/secreta $129,465 $108,206 2025
Aerospace Futures Alliance Of Washington WA$489,873 Executive Director (Thru 12/23) $138,128 $126,494 2023
Ashland Alliance Corporation KY$489,844 President $128,210 $140,894 2023
West Slope Colorado Oil & Gas CO$489,396 Executive Director $175,345 $167,045 2024
North Texas Gay Lesbian Bisexual TX$489,096 President/ceo $92,672 $92,100 2024
Prof Golfers Ass'n Of Amer-illinois IL$493,844 Executive Director $27,326 $26,691 2024
Homebuilders Association Of Jackson Inc MS$488,928 Executive Vice President $99,810 $110,443 2024
Norfolk Area Visitors Bureau NE$488,924 Executive Di $79,596 $85,055 2024
Contractors Assoc Of CA$494,054 Executive Dir. $110,801 $97,865 2023
The Concrete Industry Board Inc NY$488,205 Executive Director $66,615 $61,572 2023
Downtown Naperville Alliance IL$495,476 Executive Dir. $84,046 $84,516 2023
Medical Staff Of Childrens Hospital & CA$487,290 President $35,000 $30,027 2024
Visit Newberg OR$486,604 Executive Di $100,577 $92,796 2024
Wisconsin High School Football WI$485,679 Executive Director $55,000 $55,596 2025
Lancaster County Chamber Of Commerce SC$497,203 President $93,929 $97,356 2024
Greater Piedmont Area Association VA$485,291 Executive Of $142,534 $140,769 2023
Las Vegas Chapter American Concrete NV$499,189 Executive Di $69,000 $66,944 2025
Fiscal Partners Inc MA$483,314 President & Executive Dire $173,094 $154,537 2024
Kentucky Association Of Nurse KY$500,802 Executive Director $111,493 $119,008 2024
Downtown Community Partnership ND$481,804 Ceo/president $69,556 $78,076 2023
Society Of Utah Medical Oncologists MD$501,392 Board Member $3,000 $2,787 2024
American Chamber Of Commerce In Kazakhstan FL$502,260 Executive Director $301,240 $281,157 2024
Alliance For Dade Inc GA$480,435 President And Ceo $70,875 $70,802 2024
Connectup Institute MN$479,058 President $88,833 $89,784 2023
Regional Air Cargo Carriers MA$503,973 President $52,000 $46,425 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VT 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 VT 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 default66th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)64th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted68th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted63rd

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 (Peter Sterling) 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 10, 2026, comparing compensation against 533 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S41), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $125,000 is reasonable (approximately the 66th 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 10, 2026.