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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Pelican Lakes Conservation Club

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 237306981
MN · NTEE C300
FY ending 2025-04-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Scott Franke, Executive Director / CEO ($35,375) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 55 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 53rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Scott Franke — reported title “GAMB MGR/DIR”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

55 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 55 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,155 total compensation of comparable organizations → $165,183 $35,375
$5,47910th
$20,17425th
$34,400Median
$62,12875th
$85,84090th
$35,375This org · 53rd
p10$5,479
p25$20,174
p50$34,400
p75$62,128
p90$85,840
$35,375

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 MN 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
Rosedale Conservancy Inc DC$148,888 Treasurer $5,072 $4,623 2024
Assateague Coastal Trust Inc MD$148,058 Executive Director $59,615 $57,897 2024
Center For Environmental Law & Policy WA$147,671 Executive Director $89,680 $83,407 2024
Play For All Foundation Inc IL$146,122 President $24,656 $25,180 2024
Shamokin Creek Restoration Alliance PA$145,624 Executive Di $19,200 $19,890 2024
Friends Of The Nature Center In Rancocas State Park Inc NJ$144,132 Executive Director $22,056 $20,457 2024
Cross Vermont Trail Assocation Inc VT$155,037 Executive Director $23,000 $24,759 2023
Conservation Technology Accelerator Inc CA$156,240 President $13,499 $12,109 2024
Keep Florida Beautiful Inc FL$141,524 Executive Di $74,235 $74,584 2023
Coastal Resources Group Inc FL$157,240 Past Pres/treas/director $70,728 $71,061 2023
Integrated Vegetation Management Partners Inc DE$158,016 President $133,800 $140,115 2023
The Urban Wildlands Group Inc CA$159,953 President $45,300 $41,835 2023
Hartley Mason Reservation Co Jeffrey W Mcconnell ME$136,817 Trustee $5,000 $5,201 2024
Human Impacts Institute Inc NY$133,757 Executive Director $52,577 $50,811 2023
Missouri Parks Association MO$170,375 Executive Di $51,200 $57,997 2023
Prairie Pines Partners NE$126,575 Ppp Manager $21,732 $24,281 2024
Reshoring Initiative FL$173,066 President $28,932 $29,068 2023
Tahoma Audubon Society WA$174,454 Executive Director $58,031 $55,566 2023
Na Mamo Aloha Aina O Honokohau HI$175,740 Secretary $2,400 $2,233 2024
Rural Land Foundation Of Lincoln MA$176,486 Executive Director $176,952 $165,183 2024
Lake Fork Valley Conservancy CO$121,928 Executive Director $44,000 $45,122 2023
Kentucky Heartwood Inc KY$178,102 Executive Di $52,974 $60,869 2023
Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration MI$180,120 Executive Di $20,000 $21,444 2024
Florida Coastal Conservancy FL$180,492 President $35,250 $34,400 2024
Sebasticook Regional Land Trust ME$115,436 Executive Director $41,680 $44,636 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MN cost of living and 2025 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 MN 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 default53rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)53rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted53rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted51st

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 (Scott Franke) 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 55 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $35,375 is reasonable (approximately the 53rd 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.