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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Lifetides Institute

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 200000619
SC · NTEE C32
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Janis Schatz, Executive Director / CEO ($26,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 60 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 20th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

How comparable organizations were selected

60 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 60 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,962 total compensation of comparable organizations → $124,425 $26,500
$7,60310th
$41,18325th
$53,471Median
$69,99775th
$96,22090th
$26,500This org · 20th
p10$7,603
p25$41,183
p50$53,471
p75$69,997
p90$96,220
$26,500

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 SC cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateTotal revenueTotal compSource
Madison River FoundationMT $240,092$116,085 990
Gull Chain Of Lakes AssociationMN $238,044$11,952 990
Hui O KoolaupokoHI $236,830$31,560 990
One People One ReefCA $235,610$23,860 990
The Great Egg Harbor Watershed AssociationNJ $233,111$51,132 990
Chesapeake Rivers Association IncMD $232,603$107,538 990
The Beaver Coalition IncOR $231,797$74,504 990
St Mary's River Watershed Association IncMD $247,582$42,478 990
Acton Wakefield Watersheds AllianceNH $248,360$66,260 990
Smithfield Irrigation CompanyUT $250,811$1,962 990
Pudding River Watershed CouncilOR $250,832$57,278 990
Carrolls Water AssociationWA $256,946$7,096 990
Jersey Shore Partnership Foundation IncNJ $221,167$64,241 990
Resource Protection Group IncVA $258,063$6,941 990
Pokegama Lake AssociationMN $218,503$2,557 990
Project OCA $216,852$46,016 990
Beyond Our Shores IncRI $263,786$69,221 990
Jones River Watershed AssocincMA $264,493$51,682 990
Missouri Stream Team Watershed CoalitionMO $265,034$45,567 990
Malama Na ApapaHI $265,256$10,402 990
Spokane River ForumWA $208,638$38,774 990
Jacobs Creek Watershed AssociationPA $208,570$39,602 990
Friends Of Deckers Creek IncWV $208,060$42,836 990
Harney County Watershed Council IncOR $270,607$47,885 990
Trinity Edwards Springs Protection AssocTX $207,231$41,710 990

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 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.

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 default20th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)18th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted20th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted20th

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 (Janis Schatz) 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 60 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C32), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $26,500 is reasonable (approximately the 20th 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). 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.