Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Shawn Kelly, Executive Director / CEO ($128,469) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 99 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 89th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range
Benchmarked executive: Shawn Kelly — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO 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 CA 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elakha Alliance | OR | $479,406 | Executive Dir. | $100,833 | $111,644 | 2023 |
| Atchafalaya Basinkeeper Inc | LA | $477,796 | Executive Director | $71,560 | $91,253 | 2024 |
| Lake Waramaug Task Force Inc | CT | $476,333 | Executive Director | $91,115 | $101,857 | 2023 |
| Bighorn River Alliance | MT | $487,540 | Executive Director | $82,957 | $103,558 | 2024 |
| Lifewater Inc | AR | $474,680 | President/ceo | $65,583 | $85,372 | 2024 |
| Gloucester Fishing Community Preservation Fund Inc | MA | $490,600 | Executive Director/director | $105,000 | $109,270 | 2024 |
| Calapooia Watershed Council | OR | $470,356 | Executive Dir. | $82,683 | $88,922 | 2024 |
| Arkansas River Watershed Collaborative | CO | $467,784 | Executive Director | $84,464 | $93,793 | 2024 |
| Lloyd Center For The Environment Inc | MA | $494,849 | Executive Director | $90,056 | $96,486 | 2023 |
| Coastal Watershed Council | CA | $497,221 | Executive Dir. | $110,000 | $113,249 | 2023 |
| Friends Of The River Foundation | KS | $497,665 | Executive Di | $48,000 | $61,827 | 2023 |
| Southeastern Wisconsin Watersheds Trust Inc | WI | $498,776 | Executive Director | $103,329 | $124,971 | 2024 |
| Leading From Within | CA | $500,842 | Executive Director | $119,583 | $123,115 | 2023 |
| Savannah Riverkeeper Inc | GA | $461,387 | Executive Di | $53,880 | $62,739 | 2024 |
| Luckiamute Watershed Council | OR | $458,859 | Exec Directo | $28,333 | $30,471 | 2024 |
| Deschutes River Alliance | OR | $505,975 | Executive Director | $116,200 | $124,968 | 2024 |
| Lake Stewards Of Maine - Maine | ME | $506,329 | Executive Director | $88,730 | $102,894 | 2024 |
| Middle Colorado Watershed Council | CO | $454,149 | Executive Director | $93,526 | $106,924 | 2023 |
| Colorado Watershed Assembly | CO | $453,242 | Executive Director | $72,000 | $82,315 | 2023 |
| Chesapeake Stormwater Network Inc | MD | $511,702 | Executive Director | $122,526 | $129,239 | 2025 |
| Powder Basin Watershed Council | OR | $512,511 | Executive Dir. | $65,505 | $72,529 | 2023 |
| The California Water Impact Network | CA | $512,727 | Secretary | $58,881 | $58,881 | 2024 |
| National Watershed Coalition | OK | $446,831 | Executive Director | $132,000 | $163,988 | 2025 |
| Great River Passage Conservancy | MN | $444,881 | Executive Director | $154,688 | $177,011 | 2024 |
| Takshanuk Watershed Council | AK | $523,201 | Executive Director | $72,668 | $82,832 | 2023 |
Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA cost of living and 2024 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 CA 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 | 89th |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 93rd |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 91st |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 87th |
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 9, 2026.