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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Opacum Land Trust Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 043501184
MA · NTEE C34
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Laney Wilder, Executive Director / CEO ($67,164) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 66 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 36th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

66 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 66 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,179 total compensation of comparable organizations → $157,488 $67,164
$40,54110th
$55,94725th
$85,751Median
$97,16875th
$112,64090th
$67,164This org · 36th
p10$40,541
p25$55,947
p50$85,751
p75$97,168
p90$112,640
$67,164

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
Kennebunk Land Trust ME$375,736 Executive Director $82,161 $88,927 2024
California Climate Action Now CA$373,060 Can Directr $135,000 $126,003 2024
Idaho Organization Of Resource Coun ID$387,683 Exec Director $66,838 $79,123 2023
Open Space Cncl For The St Louis Region MO$391,754 Executive Dir. $43,260 $49,526 2024
Vinalhaven Land Trust Inc ME$394,562 Executive Di $77,874 $86,776 2023
Ohio Land Bank Association OH$396,642 Executive Di $86,884 $102,406 2023
International Rocky Mountain Stage Stop WY$363,097 Race Director $35,333 $42,104 2023
The Public Trust Environmental Legal Institute Of Florida Inc FL$359,868 Executive Director $111,950 $113,676 2024
Archangel Ancient Tree Archive MI$403,111 Executive Di $85,000 $94,831 2024
Hilltown Land Trust Inc MA$409,978 Executive Director $1,979 $1,922 2024
Bear-paw Regional Greenways NH$350,074 Executive Director $71,790 $71,650 2024
River Fields Inc KY$349,378 President And Ceo $76,161 $91,057 2023
Cacapon And Lost Rivers Land Tr Inc WV$419,733 Executive Director $83,100 $97,255 2024
Red River Gorge Climbers' Coalition Inc KY$339,182 Executive Director $72,958 $84,725 2024
Agricultural-natural Resources Trust CA$421,733 Executive Dir. $90,405 $86,872 2023
Boulder Climbing Community CO$421,952 Executive Dir. $93,500 $96,908 2024
Taos Land Trust NM$422,542 Executive Di $77,377 $92,613 2023
Center For Whole Communities Inc VT$336,563 Sr Strategist $86,918 $94,562 2024
Kent Land Trust Inc CT$335,603 Executive Director $48,750 $49,406 2024
St Croix International Waterway Commission ME$427,550 Executive Director $50,526 $56,302 2023
Bolsa Chica Land Trust CA$331,328 Executive Dir. $67,644 $65,001 2023
Mother Lode Land Trust CA$430,183 Executive Dir. $60,000 $56,002 2024
Northern California Regional Land Trust CA$328,743 Executive Director $97,154 $88,342 2025
South Hero Land Trust Inc VT$328,626 Executive Director $53,479 $59,901 2023
Southeast Alaska Land Trust AK$435,491 Executive Di $90,180 $95,944 2023

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 default36th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)38th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted38th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted35th

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 (Laney Wilder) 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 66 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C34), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $67,164 is reasonable (approximately the 36th 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.