Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Melanie Ruhlman, Executive Director / CEO ($61,170) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 52 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 69th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range
Benchmarked executive: Melanie Ruhlman — reported title “President”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.
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 SC cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.
| Organization | State | Revenue | Matched title | Comp (reported) | Comp (adjusted) | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper | PA | $198,212 | Executive Di | $57,120 | $54,601 | 2024 |
| Trinity Edwards Springs Protection Assoc | TX | $207,231 | Executive Dir. | $43,500 | $41,710 | 2024 |
| Friends Of Deckers Creek Inc | WV | $208,060 | Exec. Director | $41,273 | $42,836 | 2024 |
| Jacobs Creek Watershed Association | PA | $208,570 | Executive Director | $40,240 | $39,602 | 2023 |
| Spokane River Forum | WA | $208,638 | Executive Dir. | $46,376 | $38,774 | 2025 |
| Friends Of Palm Beach Inc | FL | $188,309 | President | $60,000 | $54,029 | 2024 |
| Project O | CA | $216,852 | President & Ceo | $54,000 | $46,016 | 2023 |
| Pokegama Lake Association | MN | $218,503 | Secretary | $2,700 | $2,557 | 2024 |
| Pozo De Agua Inc | PR | $181,070 | President | $21,020 | $21,020 | 2024 |
| Lake Worth Lagoon Environmental Defense | FL | $180,852 | Executive Direc | $15,701 | $14,556 | 2023 |
| Jersey Shore Partnership Foundation Inc | NJ | $221,167 | President | $75,063 | $64,241 | 2024 |
| Friends Of The Shiawassee River | MI | $177,141 | Exec Directo | $46,752 | $47,622 | 2023 |
| Idaho Association Of Soil Conservation | ID | $176,628 | Executive Director | $42,000 | $44,093 | 2023 |
| Tennessee Riverkeeper | AL | $174,228 | Executive Di | $114,000 | $118,053 | 2024 |
| Pennsylvania Lake Management Society | PA | $168,728 | Executive Director | $54,815 | $52,398 | 2024 |
| The Beaver Coalition Inc | OR | $231,797 | Executive Director | $83,697 | $74,504 | 2024 |
| Chesapeake Rivers Association Inc | MD | $232,603 | Secretary | $120,000 | $107,538 | 2024 |
| The Great Egg Harbor Watershed Association | NJ | $233,111 | Coordinator | $51,611 | $45,475 | 2023 |
| One People One Reef | CA | $235,610 | V Chair&co-dir. | $28,000 | $23,860 | 2023 |
| Upstream Watch | ME | $163,974 | Executive Director | $63,000 | $60,470 | 2024 |
| Hui O Koolaupoko | HI | $236,830 | Project Director | $36,775 | $31,560 | 2024 |
| Gull Chain Of Lakes Association | MN | $238,044 | Secretary/tr | $12,619 | $11,952 | 2024 |
| Westlake Aquatic Center Inc | MO | $161,905 | Staff | $7,457 | $7,571 | 2024 |
| Lifetides Institute | SC | $239,327 | Vice Chair | $26,500 | $26,500 | 2024 |
| Madison River Foundation | MT | $240,092 | Former Executive Director | $109,125 | $116,085 | 2023 |
Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to SC cost of living and 2024 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.
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 SC 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.
Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:
| Basis | Subject percentile |
|---|---|
| Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default | 69th |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 63rd |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 71st |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 69th |
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.
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
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.