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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Blessed Earth Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 263076121
KY · NTEE C60
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of John Matthew Sleeth, Executive Director / CEO ($191,959) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 93 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 99th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: John Matthew Sleeth — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

93 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 93 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$480 total compensation of comparable organizations → $806,641 $191,959
$19,87010th
$40,26025th
$60,417Median
$74,76975th
$94,57490th
$191,959This org · 99th
p10$19,870
p25$40,260
p50$60,417
p75$74,769
p90$94,574
$191,959

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 KY 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
Strawberry Hill Foundation Inc PA$380,658 Executive Di $71,500 $66,367 2024
Pando Populus Inc CA$377,928 President $112,500 $90,420 2024
Rep Environmental Education Foundation VA$377,331 President $129,446 $116,334 2024
Bees In The D MI$390,684 Vice-president/treasurer $69,735 $68,975 2023
Georgia Arborist Association Inc GA$374,382 Executive Di $74,282 $69,519 2024
Earthroots Field School Inc CA$391,713 Executive Director $27,335 $21,970 2024
Vermont Wilderness School VT$372,886 Executive Director $70,673 $66,210 2024
Habitatmap Incorporated NY$370,978 Executive Di $23,000 $19,345 2024
Green Beverly 107q Inc MA$369,863 President $48,000 $40,148 2024
Wesselman Nature Society Inc IN$396,745 Executive Director $63,785 $62,609 2024
Eastern Region Association Of Forest And Nature Schools MD$364,438 Executive Director $76,916 $68,909 2023
Pilsen Enviromental Rights And Reform Organization IL$363,375 President $1,950 $1,784 2024
The Outdoor Circle HI$402,928 Executive Director $122,049 $101,708 2024
Get Inspired CA$403,267 President $110,000 $88,410 2024
Climate Access Fund Corporation MD$404,259 Ceo $156,583 $136,257 2024
Craters Of The Moon Natural History Asso ID$360,693 Executive Director $62,538 $61,922 2024
Torrey House Press UT$405,952 Executive Director $69,650 $68,310 2023
High Desert Horticultural Center OR$358,304 Nursery Manager $31,603 $27,317 2024
30 Mile River Watershed Association ME$408,868 Executive Director $100,722 $93,876 2024
The Kiva Center CO$351,466 Treasurer $59,750 $53,327 2024
Always Choose Adventures CO$350,083 Executive Di $8,100 $7,229 2024
Parking Reform Network OR$347,252 President $30,000 $25,931 2024
Perennial MO$345,969 Executive Director $54,900 $54,123 2024
Ecologik Institute CA$421,600 President $18,270 $14,684 2024
Global Inheritance Inc CA$342,197 Executive Di $30,508 $25,244 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to KY cost of living and 2024 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 KY 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 default99th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)99th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted99th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted98th

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 (John Matthew Sleeth) 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 93 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $191,959 is reasonable (approximately the 99th 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.