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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Cottonwood Environmental Law Center Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 271225588
MT · NTEE C20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of John Meyer, Executive Director / CEO ($120,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 21 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 95th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: John Meyer — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

21 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 21 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,978 total compensation of comparable organizations → $210,603 $120,000
$6,10310th
$18,24025th
$46,647Median
$64,27775th
$67,94390th
$120,000This org · 95th
p10$6,103
p25$18,240
p50$46,647
p75$64,277
p90$67,943
$120,000

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 MT 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
Tejas Roadrunners Non Profit TX$247,008 Director $28,058 $25,290 2024
Material Innovation Institute CA$231,821 Chief Executive Officer (Thru July) $82,609 $64,277 2024
San Bruno Mountain Watch CA$256,427 Executive Dir. $85,293 $66,365 2024
Community Climate Solutions CA$257,065 President And Program Manager $89,625 $67,938 2025
Toxics Action Center Inc MA$227,403 President $7,321 $6,103 2023
Restore The Earth Foundation Inc MD$217,709 Executive Director $249,996 $210,603 2024
Greater Indiana Clean Cities Inc IN$270,798 Exec Director $77,426 $75,746 2023
Bikeventura CA$272,422 Director $43,108 $33,541 2024
Local Environmental Action Demanded Agency Inc OK$277,875 Executive Director $4,917 $4,879 2024
Friends Of Bayou Lafourche Inc LA$290,045 Executive Director $51,458 $52,565 2023
Green Sports Alliance Foundation OR$188,603 Executive Director $65,368 $56,315 2023
Orleans Land Restoration Corporation NY$303,646 C.e.o./c.f.o. $23,698 $19,296 2024
Champaign County Environmental Stewards IL$313,037 Executive Director $12,490 $11,065 2024
Sustainable Woodstock Inc VT$314,084 Executive Director $51,433 $46,647 2024
Western Pa Coalition For Abandoned PA$330,871 Executive Di $73,442 $67,943 2023
Pacific Sound Resources Environmental WA$336,662 Trustee $2,382 $1,978 2023
Alliance For Nuclear Responsibility CA$337,058 Executive Director $22,770 $18,240 2023
Clean Air Coalition Of Western NY$338,710 Executive Dir. $64,223 $52,293 2024
Babb Creek Watershed Association PA$342,759 Director $14,400 $12,940 2024
Upper Peninsula Land Conservancy MI$344,028 Interim Exec $20,508 $19,074 2024
Oregon Physicians For Social OR$358,036 Executive Dire $61,270 $51,270 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.

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 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.

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 default95th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)95th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted95th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted90th

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 Meyer) 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 21 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $120,000 is reasonable (approximately the 95th 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.