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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Tellus Institute Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 141589922
MA · NTEE C056
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Paul D Raskin, Executive Director / CEO ($134,992) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 143 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 98th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

143 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 143 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$558 total compensation of comparable organizations → $204,226 $134,992
$8,81610th
$22,98025th
$48,538Median
$72,08175th
$98,16490th
$134,992This org · 98th
p10$8,816
p25$22,980
p50$48,538
p75$72,081
p90$98,164
$134,992

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
Kern River Conservancy CA$113,172 President $51,440 $49,430 2024
Bear Trust International CO$113,291 Executive Dir. $61,566 $67,635 2023
Watershed Restoration Coalition For The MT$112,825 Secretary/bookkeeper $10,496 $12,962 2023
Bronzeville Trail Task Force Inc IL$112,802 Founder $11,900 $13,019 2024
Citizens For Balanced Use MT$113,663 Executive Director $30,000 $35,987 2024
Poudre River Trail Corridor Inc CO$113,738 Executive Director $86,064 $91,836 2024
Lake Bluff Open Lands Association IL$114,225 Director, Volunteer & Natural Areas Coordinator $39,545 $43,264 2024
Neighborhood Collaborative Community Gardens NJ$114,261 Executive Director-board Member $16,495 $16,389 2024
Jackson Hole Center For Global Affairs Inc WY$114,403 President $100,000 $122,683 2023
Thrive Conservation CA$114,419 Director And Secretary $26,001 $24,985 2024
Aquatic Restoration And Research Institute AK$114,568 President $65,200 $69,367 2024
Agassiz Audubon Society Inc MN$114,610 Director $1,125 $1,237 2024
Mission Resolve Foundation Inc FL$111,717 Treasurer $3,227 $3,473 2023
Drinking Water Research Foundation VA$114,884 Executive Director $108,962 $117,077 2024
Patuxent Tidewater Land Tr MD$115,193 Easement Manager $57,250 $59,562 2024
Margaret & Luke Pettit Preserve Inc GA$110,993 Executive Director $60,000 $65,404 2025
Sebasticook Regional Land Trust ME$115,436 Executive Director $41,680 $47,816 2023
Jose Wejebe-spanish Fly Memorial Foundation Inc FL$116,257 Executive Director $43,417 $46,729 2023
River In Action CA$109,683 President $62,413 $58,428 2025
Killbuck Watershed Land Trust OH$117,722 Executive Director $40,000 $48,538 2023
Georgia Native Plant Society GA$108,382 Executive Director $43,750 $50,399 2023
Green Again Restoration MN$118,318 Executive Director $7,882 $8,923 2023
Alaska Wilderness League Action DC$107,007 Executive Director $34,563 $33,752 2024
Murrysville Area Watershed Association PA$107,000 Director $15,700 $17,423 2024
Penn Soil Rc&d Council PA$106,194 Executive Director $18,044 $20,616 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 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 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 default98th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)99th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted98th
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 (Paul D Raskin) 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 143 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (C), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $134,992 is reasonable (approximately the 98th 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.