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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Prairie Pines Partners

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 272523178
NE · NTEE C30
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sue Kohles, Executive Director / CEO ($21,732) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 35 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 31st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Sue Kohles — reported title “PPP Manager”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

35 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 35 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,034 total compensation of comparable organizations → $147,842 $21,732
$7,12810th
$18,75125th
$31,661Median
$51,86475th
$71,49390th
$21,732This org · 31st
p10$7,128
p25$18,751
p50$31,661
p75$51,864
p90$71,493
$21,732

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 NE 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
Lake Fork Valley Conservancy CO$121,928 Executive Director $44,000 $40,386 2023
Human Impacts Institute Inc NY$133,757 Executive Director $52,577 $45,477 2023
Hartley Mason Reservation Co Jeffrey W Mcconnell ME$136,817 Trustee $5,000 $4,655 2024
Sebasticook Regional Land Trust ME$115,436 Executive Director $41,680 $39,950 2023
Agassiz Audubon Society Inc MN$114,610 Director $1,125 $1,034 2024
Thrive Conservation CA$114,419 Director And Secretary $26,001 $20,875 2024
Poudre River Trail Corridor Inc CO$113,738 Executive Director $86,064 $76,728 2024
Citizens For Balanced Use MT$113,663 Executive Director $30,000 $30,067 2024
Kern River Conservancy CA$113,172 President $51,440 $41,298 2024
Keep Florida Beautiful Inc FL$141,524 Executive Di $74,235 $66,755 2023
Friends Of The Nature Center In Rancocas State Park Inc NJ$144,132 Executive Director $22,056 $18,309 2024
Shamokin Creek Restoration Alliance PA$145,624 Executive Di $19,200 $17,802 2024
Play For All Foundation Inc IL$146,122 President $24,656 $22,537 2024
Penn Soil Rc&d Council PA$106,194 Executive Director $18,044 $17,224 2023
Center For Environmental Law & Policy WA$147,671 Executive Director $89,680 $74,651 2024
Assateague Coastal Trust Inc MD$148,058 Executive Director $59,615 $51,819 2024
Rosedale Conservancy Inc DC$148,888 Treasurer $5,072 $4,138 2024
Pelican Lakes Conservation Club MN$149,353 Gamb Mgr/dir $35,375 $31,661 2025
Lake Erie Islands Historical Society OH$101,154 Board Member $12,578 $12,386 2024
Muskingum Watershed Conservancy OH$100,994 Executive Director $51,704 $50,915 2024
Cross Vermont Trail Assocation Inc VT$155,037 Executive Director $23,000 $22,159 2023
Kingfisher Trails Inc OK$97,082 President & Ceo $30,000 $31,621 2023
Conservation Technology Accelerator Inc CA$156,240 President $13,499 $10,838 2024
Coastal Resources Group Inc FL$157,240 Past Pres/treas/director $70,728 $63,601 2023
Integrated Vegetation Management Partners Inc DE$158,016 President $133,800 $125,406 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NE 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 NE 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 default31st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)26th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted37th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted31st

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 (Sue Kohles) 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 35 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $21,732 is reasonable (approximately the 31st 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.