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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Muskingum Watershed Conservancy

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 341953261
OH · NTEE C30
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sheila Hurley, Executive Director / CEO ($51,704) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 23 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 78th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

23 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 23 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,050 total compensation of comparable organizations → $77,916 $51,704
$6,29710th
$18,33625th
$32,110Median
$44,06075th
$65,75490th
$51,704This org · 78th
p10$6,297
p25$18,336
p50$32,110
p75$44,060
p90$65,754
$51,704

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 OH 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 Erie Islands Historical Society OH$101,154 Board Member $12,578 $12,578 2024
Kingfisher Trails Inc OK$97,082 President & Ceo $30,000 $32,110 2023
Penn Soil Rc&d Council PA$106,194 Executive Director $18,044 $17,491 2023
Kern River Conservancy CA$113,172 President $51,440 $41,938 2024
Citizens For Balanced Use MT$113,663 Executive Director $30,000 $30,532 2024
Poudre River Trail Corridor Inc CO$113,738 Executive Director $86,064 $77,916 2024
Thrive Conservation CA$114,419 Director And Secretary $26,001 $21,198 2024
Agassiz Audubon Society Inc MN$114,610 Director $1,125 $1,050 2024
Pilchuck Audubon Society WA$86,669 Director $68,165 $57,620 2024
Sebasticook Regional Land Trust ME$115,436 Executive Director $41,680 $40,569 2023
Lake Fork Valley Conservancy CO$121,928 Executive Director $44,000 $41,011 2023
Prairie Pines Partners NE$126,575 Ppp Manager $21,732 $22,069 2024
Human Impacts Institute Inc NY$133,757 Executive Director $52,577 $46,182 2023
National Historic Trails Center WY$68,225 Executive Director $40,000 $40,441 2024
Hartley Mason Reservation Co Jeffrey W Mcconnell ME$136,817 Trustee $5,000 $4,727 2024
Keep Florida Beautiful Inc FL$141,524 Executive Di $74,235 $67,788 2023
Friends Of The Nature Center In Rancocas State Park Inc NJ$144,132 Executive Director $22,056 $18,593 2024
Shamokin Creek Restoration Alliance PA$145,624 Executive Di $19,200 $18,078 2024
Play For All Foundation Inc IL$146,122 President $24,656 $22,886 2024
Center For Environmental Law & Policy WA$147,671 Executive Director $89,680 $75,807 2024
Assateague Coastal Trust Inc MD$148,058 Executive Director $59,615 $52,622 2024
Rosedale Conservancy Inc DC$148,888 Treasurer $5,072 $4,202 2024
Pelican Lakes Conservation Club MN$149,353 Gamb Mgr/dir $35,375 $32,151 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to OH 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 OH 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 default78th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)74th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted78th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted74th

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 (Sheila Hurley) 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 23 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $51,704 is reasonable (approximately the 78th 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.