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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Tahoe Institute For Natural Science

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 272379984
NV · NTEE C30
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Will Richardson, Executive Director / CEO ($79,428) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 152 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 75th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Will Richardson — reported title “Executive Dir.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

152 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 152 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,584 total compensation of comparable organizations → $128,786 $79,428
$17,90710th
$41,04325th
$60,851Median
$79,56375th
$90,00790th
$79,428This org · 75th
p10$17,907
p25$41,043
p50$60,851
p75$79,563
p90$90,007
$79,428

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 NV 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
Bold Visions Conservation MT$302,674 Executive Director $67,749 $70,766 2024
Grow Wild Inc MT$300,418 Executive Director $104,805 $109,472 2024
Vashon-maury Island Nature Center WA$304,220 Science Dire $66,560 $57,744 2024
South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition CA$304,230 Exec. Director $104,058 $84,825 2025
Sugi Foundation CA$299,320 Excfo $68,000 $56,898 2024
Sunflower Star Laboratory CA$299,106 Project Mgr. $26,085 $21,827 2024
Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance MN$297,817 Executive Director $111,764 $107,013 2024
Bucks County Audubon Society PA$309,340 Executive Dir. $67,336 $65,069 2024
Mountain Valleys Resource Conservation & Development Council NC$310,347 Executive Director $44,122 $44,177 2024
Sustainability Matters Inc VA$311,002 Executive Di $59,155 $56,981 2023
Coastal Connections Inc FL$291,704 Executive Director $42,000 $39,362 2023
Nashville Tree Conservation Corps TN$290,930 Former Exec $82,558 $84,090 2024
Four Winds Nature Institute Inc VT$285,418 Executive Dir. $63,811 $62,237 2024
Blue Scholars Initiative FL$284,046 Program Director $30,468 $27,735 2024
Pangeaseed Foundation HI$319,879 Executive Director $77,227 $68,978 2023
The Susquehanna Greenway Partnershp PA$320,810 Executive Di $76,336 $75,945 2023
Santa Barbara Audubon Society CA$322,002 Executive Dir. $67,866 $55,323 2025
Middlesex Land Trust CT$322,665 Executive Di $66,111 $61,840 2023
Project Regeneration CA$279,043 Executive Director $131,250 $109,822 2024
Oahu Agriculture And Conservation Assoc HI$325,224 Executive Dir. $95,881 $83,182 2024
Regenerative Earth CO$278,331 Exec Director, Board Chair $67,562 $64,630 2023
Center For Sustainable Economy WA$277,153 President $98,400 $85,368 2024
Wildlife Ecology Institute MT$327,259 Executive Dir. $100,039 $104,494 2024
Outdoor New Mexico NM$276,415 Executive Director $70,640 $73,622 2024
Nebraska Association Of Resources NE$275,886 Executive Director $43,069 $43,730 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NV 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 NV 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 default75th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)74th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted64th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted73rd

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 (Will Richardson) 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 152 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $79,428 is reasonable (approximately the 75th 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.