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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Grace Hudowalski Charitable Trust

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 146179116
ME · NTEE C013
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of L John Van Norden, Executive Director / CEO ($54,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 53 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 30th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: L John Van Norden — reported title “TRUSTEE”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

53 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 53 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$758 total compensation of comparable organizations → $427,544 $54,000
$23,84010th
$49,69825th
$79,530Median
$99,53575th
$134,08590th
$54,000This org · 30th
p10$23,840
p25$49,698
p50$79,530
p75$99,535
p90$134,085
$54,000

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 ME 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
Yaak Valley Forest Council MT$410,680 Executive Di $16,828 $17,595 2024
Arkansas Environmental Federation Inc AR$402,813 Executive Director $97,554 $109,509 2023
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition CA$413,193 Executive Dir. $163,249 $136,738 2024
Great Rivers Habitat Alliance MO$415,631 Executive Di $151,408 $160,149 2023
Urban Water Institute Inc CA$418,696 Executive Dir. $48,430 $40,566 2024
Childhood Lead Action Project RI$394,175 Executive Director $69,270 $64,430 2024
Western Leaders Network CO$432,415 Executive Dir. $110,053 $102,363 2024
Rochester Ecology Partners Inc NY$444,273 Executive Director $59,112 $51,813 2024
Snake River Waterkeeper Inc ID$444,677 Executive Dir. $402,446 $427,544 2023
Bluedot Institute Inc CA$445,571 Executive Director $74,712 $62,579 2024
Conservation Alabama AL$365,903 Executive Director $70,990 $74,393 2024
Roaring Fork Valley Wildfire Collaborative CO$448,807 Executive Director $90,000 $83,711 2024
Powder River Basin Resource Council WY$463,151 Executive Di $41,543 $43,151 2024
Brighter Green Inc NY$463,273 Executive Di $35,000 $31,585 2023
Minnesota Environmental Partnership MN$464,205 Executive Director $154,029 $147,633 2024
California Urban Forests Council CA$470,825 Exec Director $118,833 $99,535 2024
Georgia Tree Council Inc GA$343,033 Executive Di $72,663 $70,870 2024
Cape Fear River Watch NC$471,332 Executive Director $68,855 $69,012 2024
Environmental Justice Community Action Network NC$475,260 Executive Director $95,000 $95,216 2024
Recycling Association Of Minnesota MN$477,798 Executive Director $50,724 $48,618 2024
Everglades Law Center Inc FL$483,835 Executive Director $91,258 $83,159 2024
North Carolina Climate Justice NC$485,773 Co-executive Director $49,586 $49,698 2024
Maine Climate Action Now ME$485,922 Executive Director (Mcan) $63,818 $61,987 2024
Fossil Free California CA$327,050 Executive Dir. $79,782 $68,800 2023
Energy Policy Network TX$490,332 Executive Dir. $20,125 $20,104 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to ME 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 ME 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 default30th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)28th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted32nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted30th

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 (L John Van Norden) 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 53 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C01), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $54,000 is reasonable (approximately the 30th 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.