Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Susan Johnson, Executive Director / CEO ($10,496) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 23 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 17th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations
Benchmarked executive: Susan Johnson — reported title “SECRETARY/BOOKKEEPER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.
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 MT cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.
| Organization | State | Revenue | Matched title | Comp (reported) | Comp (adjusted) | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Storm Drain Protection Act Inc | FL | $124,705 | Executive Di | $79,500 | $67,296 | 2024 |
| Sarasota Bay Watch Inc | FL | $95,871 | Executive Director | $40,000 | $32,987 | 2025 |
| Hoosic River Watershed Association | MA | $95,496 | Executive Director | $38,946 | $31,536 | 2024 |
| Logansport Water System | IA | $93,456 | President | $4,548 | $4,620 | 2023 |
| Seaside Sustainability Inc | MA | $132,364 | Executive Director | $65,631 | $54,713 | 2023 |
| Truckee River Foundation | NV | $132,667 | Executive Director | $111,826 | $101,004 | 2024 |
| Pelican Coast Conservancy Inc | AL | $90,337 | Ceo (Non-vot | $165,000 | $165,367 | 2023 |
| Coastal Watershed Institute | WA | $138,944 | Executive Director | $560 | $452 | 2024 |
| Snwa Water Efficiency Improvement | NV | $86,082 | President | $114,829 | $101,043 | 2025 |
| Fish Reef Project | CA | $140,925 | Executive Director | $27,000 | $21,008 | 2024 |
| Little Falls Watershed Alliance Inc | MD | $80,704 | Executive Director | $39,343 | $34,122 | 2023 |
| The Downstream Project | VA | $145,658 | Executive Director | $65,076 | $56,618 | 2024 |
| Wentworth Watershed Association | NH | $145,870 | Executive Director | $77,861 | $64,782 | 2024 |
| International Society Of Limnology-sil | NC | $145,957 | Editor In Chief-inland Waters | $5,000 | $4,656 | 2024 |
| The Pennsylvania Pink Zone | PA | $148,218 | Executive Director | $50,085 | $43,846 | 2025 |
| Altamaha Riverkeeper Inc | GA | $148,849 | Executive Director | $77,920 | $70,597 | 2024 |
| Streets Run Watershed Association | PA | $153,299 | Executive Director | $88,000 | $79,075 | 2024 |
| Werkin Outdoors | NC | $153,506 | Committee Chair | $28,037 | $26,104 | 2024 |
| Nansemond River Preservation Alliance | VA | $157,999 | Presidentceo | $79,500 | $69,167 | 2024 |
| Brodheads Watershed Corporation | PA | $159,342 | Executive Director (Until 10/2023) | $53,190 | $49,208 | 2023 |
| Westlake Aquatic Center Inc | MO | $161,905 | Staff | $7,457 | $7,117 | 2024 |
| Upstream Watch | ME | $163,974 | Executive Director | $63,000 | $56,845 | 2024 |
| Pennsylvania Lake Management Society | PA | $168,728 | Executive Director | $54,815 | $49,256 | 2024 |
Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MT cost of living and 2023 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.
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 MT 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.
Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:
| Basis | Subject percentile |
|---|---|
| Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default | 17th |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 17th |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 22nd |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 17th |
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.
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
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 10, 2026.