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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Vermont Wilderness School

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 030365090
VT · NTEE C60
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Odette Butler, Executive Director / CEO ($70,673) 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 57th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Odette Butler — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO 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

$512 total compensation of comparable organizations → $861,011 $70,673
$20,29410th
$43,57225th
$63,667Median
$82,00275th
$110,46990th
$70,673This org · 57th
p10$20,294
p25$43,572
p50$63,667
p75$82,002
p90$110,469
$70,673

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
Georgia Arborist Association Inc GA$374,382 Executive Di $74,282 $74,205 2024
Habitatmap Incorporated NY$370,978 Executive Di $23,000 $20,649 2024
Green Beverly 107q Inc MA$369,863 President $48,000 $42,854 2024
Rep Environmental Education Foundation VA$377,331 President $129,446 $124,176 2024
Pando Populus Inc CA$377,928 President $112,500 $96,514 2024
Strawberry Hill Foundation Inc PA$380,658 Executive Di $71,500 $70,840 2024
Eastern Region Association Of Forest And Nature Schools MD$364,438 Executive Director $76,916 $73,553 2023
Pilsen Enviromental Rights And Reform Organization IL$363,375 President $1,950 $1,905 2024
Blessed Earth Inc KY$382,900 President $191,959 $204,898 2024
Craters Of The Moon Natural History Asso ID$360,693 Executive Director $62,538 $66,096 2024
High Desert Horticultural Center OR$358,304 Nursery Manager $31,603 $29,158 2024
Bees In The D MI$390,684 Vice-president/treasurer $69,735 $73,624 2023
Earthroots Field School Inc CA$391,713 Executive Director $27,335 $23,451 2024
The Kiva Center CO$351,466 Treasurer $59,750 $56,922 2024
Always Choose Adventures CO$350,083 Executive Di $8,100 $7,717 2024
Wesselman Nature Society Inc IN$396,745 Executive Director $63,785 $66,829 2024
Parking Reform Network OR$347,252 President $30,000 $27,679 2024
Perennial MO$345,969 Executive Director $54,900 $57,771 2024
The Outdoor Circle HI$402,928 Executive Director $122,049 $108,563 2024
Get Inspired CA$403,267 President $110,000 $94,369 2024
Global Inheritance Inc CA$342,197 Executive Di $30,508 $26,946 2023
Oklahoma Energy Education Foundation OK$341,930 Executive Director $17,282 $19,464 2023
Climate Access Fund Corporation MD$404,259 Ceo $156,583 $145,442 2024
Torrey House Press UT$405,952 Executive Director $69,650 $72,915 2023
The Outside Foundation SC$338,141 Executive Di $45,833 $47,505 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 default57th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)58th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted59th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted56th

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 (Odette Butler) 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 $70,673 is reasonable (approximately the 57th 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.