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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Cayuga Lake Watershed Network Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 161556541
NY · NTEE C013
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Elizabeth Kreitinger, Executive Director / CEO ($73,320) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 33 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 58th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Elizabeth Kreitinger — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

33 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 33 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,989 total compensation of comparable organizations → $123,614 $73,320
$10,47010th
$26,00025th
$54,096Median
$90,91275th
$113,00790th
$73,320This org · 58th
p10$10,470
p25$26,000
p50$54,096
p75$90,912
p90$113,007
$73,320

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
The Hourglass Foundation PA$205,053 Executive Di $82,708 $88,657 2024
New Mexico Recycling Coalition NM$209,215 Executive Director $96,382 $114,720 2023
St Louis River Alliance MN$203,974 Executive Director $71,817 $78,532 2023
Ashland Climate Collaborative OR$211,127 Executive Director $42,758 $42,681 2024
San Leandro 2050 CA$202,590 Ceo $8,000 $7,645 2023
Whaleman International Ltd HI$211,410 President Director Treasurer $59,750 $57,502 2024
Urban Greenspaces Institute OR$200,278 Executive Di $8,666 $8,906 2023
Big Bend Conservation Alliance TX$197,362 Executive Director $79,725 $85,724 2024
National Environmental Policy And Law Center Inc MA$196,319 Clerk, Director, Litigation Director $122,431 $121,752 2023
Happiness Project CO$195,474 President $47,255 $50,144 2023
Spanish Peaks Alliance For Wildfire CO$195,214 Executive Director $18,586 $19,157 2024
More Action For Regeneration Inc FL$219,764 Treasurer / Executive Director $40,000 $40,391 2024
1000 Friends Of Wisconsin WI$220,033 Executive Director $82,527 $95,380 2023
Minnesota Conservation Federation MN$228,598 Executive Di $46,500 $49,389 2024
Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund OH$228,737 Interim President (Term. 09/22) $8,196 $9,607 2023
Comal County Conservation Alliance Inc TX$237,135 Executive Dir. $62,968 $69,705 2023
Whidbey Environmental Action Network WA$175,262 Executive Director $87,880 $87,071 2023
Women For Conservation VA$242,451 Executive Director $48,000 $51,289 2023
Ohio Forestry Association Foundation Inc OH$171,122 Executive Director $2,550 $2,989 2023
River Keepers ND$249,256 Exec. Dir. $96,768 $114,148 2024
Passive House New England Inc MA$249,958 Executive Director $127,975 $123,614 2024
Ecological Rights Foundation CA$251,438 Executive Dir. $15,000 $13,923 2024
Vermonters For A Clean Environment Inc VT$252,053 Executive Dir. $50,000 $54,096 2024
Caldesal CA$253,796 Executive Di $100,837 $93,595 2024
Pivot Clean Energy Co CO$254,866 President $14,400 $15,280 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY 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 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 default58th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)61st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted64th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted52nd

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 (Elizabeth Kreitinger) 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 33 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C01), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $73,320 is reasonable (approximately the 58th 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.