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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Friends Of Arches&canyonlands Parks

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 273220176
UT · NTEE C30
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Stephen Evers, Executive Director / CEO ($69,823) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 146 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 60th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

How comparable organizations were selected

146 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 146 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,598 total compensation of comparable organizations → $226,151 $69,823
$23,86910th
$46,36925th
$62,554Median
$80,59375th
$91,48690th
$69,823This org · 60th
p10$23,869
p25$46,369
p50$62,554
p75$80,593
p90$91,486
$69,823

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 UT cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateTotal revenueTotal compSource
Species Survival NetworkMD $346,428$59,587 990
The Go Green Initiative AssociationCA $343,699$71,714 990
Healthy Flint Research Coordinating CentMI $343,199$75,642 990
Southwest Iowa Nature TrailsIA $352,427$20,241 990
City GrazingCA $353,251$9,889 990
Calhoun County Resource WatchTX $336,943$8,503 990
Mahwah Environmental VolunteersNJ $335,230$53,790 990
Grow Native Massachusetts IncMA $359,550$97,458 990
E IncMA $359,622$50,087 990
Coalition For Susitna Dam AlternativesAK $334,038$90,318 990
Rendezvous Lands ConservancyWY $334,011$20,492 990
Vibe Tribe AdventuresCO $360,098$55,743 990
The CrestOR $360,557$60,188 990
Edenacres Environmental EducationOR $333,368$47,879 990
Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed Land & WateFL $361,353$83,977 990
Collective Oyster Recycling &CT $332,167$32,945 990
Alaska Whale FoundationAK $331,469$86,017 990
Living Observatory IncMA $364,058$37,217 990
Friends Of The Delaware Canal IncPA $364,269$79,800 990
Billings TrailnetMT $364,583$81,675 990
Alliance For The Wild Rockies IncMT $364,633$111,439 990
Rivanna Conservation AllianceVA $364,992$31,368 990
Wildlife Ecology InstituteMT $327,259$105,363 990
Eel River Recovery Project IncCA $368,368$68,035 990
Oahu Agriculture And Conservation AssocHI $325,224$83,874 990

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 UT 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 default60th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)54th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted48th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted57th

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 (Stephen Evers) 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 146 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $69,823 is reasonable (approximately the 60th 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). 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.