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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Torrey Botanical Society

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 136108131
NY · NTEE C420
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Paradiso Lydia, Executive Director / CEO ($8,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 284 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 10th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Paradiso Lydia — reported title “President”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

284 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 284 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$555 total compensation of comparable organizations → $258,650 $8,000
$8,00210th
$26,24825th
$50,877Median
$74,49775th
$97,55790th
$8,000This org · 10th
p10$8,002
p25$26,248
p50$50,877
p75$74,497
p90$97,557
$8,000

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 NY 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
Cross Vermont Trail Assocation Inc VT$155,037 Executive Director $23,000 $26,375 2023
Garden Club Of Ohio Inc OH$155,383 Exec. Secretary/co-treasurer $5,750 $6,939 2023
Friends Of Pumpkinvine Nature Trail Inc IN$154,111 Board Member, Administrative Manager $24,000 $28,009 2024
Save The Yellowstone Grizzly MT$153,826 Board Treasu $12,000 $14,737 2023
Werkin Outdoors NC$153,506 Committee Chair $28,037 $32,059 2024
Niobrara Council NE$153,450 Executive Dir. $54,710 $65,119 2024
Conservation Technology Accelerator Inc CA$156,240 President $13,499 $12,900 2024
Streets Run Watershed Association PA$153,299 Executive Director $88,000 $97,116 2024
New Jersey Arborists Chapter NJ$157,064 Executive Director $125,375 $123,878 2024
Foundation For Ohio River Education OH$157,120 Secretary $28,400 $34,271 2023
Coastal Resources Group Inc FL$157,240 Past Pres/treas/director $70,728 $75,702 2023
Nansemond River Preservation Alliance VA$157,999 Presidentceo $79,500 $84,947 2024
Integrated Vegetation Management Partners Inc DE$158,016 President $133,800 $149,266 2023
Citizens Coal Council PA$158,904 Executive Di $68,000 $77,261 2023
Center For Science In Public Participation MT$150,621 President $100,949 $120,423 2024
The Center For Transformation Inc NJ$150,374 Co-executive Director $72,000 $73,242 2023
Brodheads Watershed Corporation PA$159,342 Executive Director (Until 10/2023) $53,190 $60,434 2023
Badlands National Park SD$149,803 Executive Director $76,635 $93,597 2024
American Daffodil Society IN$159,863 Executive Direc $15,000 $17,505 2024
The Urban Wildlands Group Inc CA$159,953 President $45,300 $44,567 2023
Pelican Lakes Conservation Club MN$149,353 Gamb Mgr/dir $35,375 $37,685 2025
Rosedale Conservancy Inc DC$148,888 Treasurer $5,072 $4,926 2024
Altamaha Riverkeeper Inc GA$148,849 Executive Director $77,920 $86,703 2024
Uc Green Inc PA$160,945 Executive Di $70,309 $75,593 2025
The Pennsylvania Pink Zone PA$148,218 Executive Director $50,085 $53,849 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY 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 NY 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 default10th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)11th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted13th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted9th

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 (Paradiso Lydia) 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 284 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (C), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $8,000 is reasonable (approximately the 10th 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.