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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

National Environmental Policy And Law Center Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 043099089
MA · NTEE C013
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Chuck Caldart, Executive Director / CEO ($122,431) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 30 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 97th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Chuck Caldart — reported title “Clerk, Director, Litigation Director”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

30 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 30 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$3,006 total compensation of comparable organizations → $124,303 $122,431
$9,59010th
$24,60225th
$56,110Median
$88,75275th
$109,62390th
$122,431This org · 97th
p10$9,590
p25$24,602
p50$56,110
p75$88,752
p90$109,623
$122,431

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 MA 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
Happiness Project CO$195,474 President $47,255 $50,424 2023
Big Bend Conservation Alliance TX$197,362 Executive Director $79,725 $86,202 2024
Spanish Peaks Alliance For Wildfire CO$195,214 Executive Director $18,586 $19,264 2024
Urban Greenspaces Institute OR$200,278 Executive Di $8,666 $8,956 2023
San Leandro 2050 CA$202,590 Ceo $8,000 $7,687 2023
St Louis River Alliance MN$203,974 Executive Director $71,817 $78,970 2023
The Hourglass Foundation PA$205,053 Executive Di $82,708 $89,151 2024
Cayuga Lake Watershed Network Inc NY$206,879 Executive Director $73,320 $73,729 2023
New Mexico Recycling Coalition NM$209,215 Executive Director $96,382 $115,360 2023
Ashland Climate Collaborative OR$211,127 Executive Director $42,758 $42,919 2024
Whaleman International Ltd HI$211,410 President Director Treasurer $59,750 $57,822 2024
Whidbey Environmental Action Network WA$175,262 Executive Director $87,880 $87,556 2023
More Action For Regeneration Inc FL$219,764 Treasurer / Executive Director $40,000 $40,616 2024
1000 Friends Of Wisconsin WI$220,033 Executive Director $82,527 $95,912 2023
Ohio Forestry Association Foundation Inc OH$171,122 Executive Director $2,550 $3,006 2023
Minnesota Conservation Federation MN$228,598 Executive Di $46,500 $49,664 2024
Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund OH$228,737 Interim President (Term. 09/22) $8,196 $9,660 2023
Comal County Conservation Alliance Inc TX$237,135 Executive Dir. $62,968 $70,094 2023
Save The Yellowstone Grizzly MT$153,826 Board Treasu $12,000 $14,395 2023
Women For Conservation VA$242,451 Executive Director $48,000 $51,575 2023
Badlands National Park SD$149,803 Executive Director $76,635 $91,419 2024
River Keepers ND$249,256 Exec. Dir. $96,768 $114,785 2024
Passive House New England Inc MA$249,958 Executive Director $127,975 $124,303 2024
Ecological Rights Foundation CA$251,438 Executive Dir. $15,000 $14,001 2024
Vermonters For A Clean Environment Inc VT$252,053 Executive Dir. $50,000 $54,398 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MA 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 MA 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 default97th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)97th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted97th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted93rd

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 (Chuck Caldart) 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 30 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C01), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $122,431 is reasonable (approximately the 97th 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.