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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 382812223
MI · NTEE C340
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jill A Lewis, Executive Director / CEO ($88,281) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 59 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 93rd percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

59 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 59 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$4,240 total compensation of comparable organizations → $137,110 $88,281
$18,48510th
$38,15725th
$58,474Median
$78,02475th
$87,24690th
$88,281This org · 93rd
p10$18,485
p25$38,157
p50$58,474
p75$78,024
p90$87,246
$88,281

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 MI 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
Wareham Land Trust Inc MA$262,864 Executive Dir. $47,878 $41,683 2023
Land Conservation Foundation IL$262,318 Executive Director $36,511 $33,779 2024
Land Trust Of The Treasure Valley ID$263,019 Executive Director (1 Month) $84,000 $86,573 2023
Kahaluu Kuahewa HI$264,425 Executive Di $57,793 $48,692 2024
Virginias United Land Trusts VA$259,231 Executive Dir. $98,537 $87,224 2025
The Glacier-two Medicine Alliance MT$266,036 Executive Dir. $67,500 $70,493 2023
Block Island Conservancy Inc RI$269,646 Executive Director $53,365 $48,153 2024
Permaculture Planet Us Ngo Foundation WY$250,000 Executive Director $75,000 $77,808 2023
Colibri Catalyst Inc DC$250,000 Board Chair, Ceo - Gdi $37,814 $31,226 2024
Wilton Land Conservation Trust CT$247,293 Executive Director $92,500 $84,026 2023
Great Plains Restoration Council TX$247,029 Ex Dir/founder $83,116 $78,239 2024
Lincoln Land Conservation Trust MA$279,228 Executive Director $22,520 $19,044 2024
Sundance Nature Alliance UT$285,075 Executive Di $75,000 $72,235 2024
Xa Kako Dile Inc CA$238,623 Executive Director $28,016 $23,438 2023
The Hillside Trust OH$237,694 Executive Director $78,000 $80,039 2023
Green Earth Inc IL$236,353 Executive Dir. $43,667 $39,357 2025
Waukesha County Land Conservancy Inc WI$289,154 Executive Director $70,969 $69,747 2024
Oconee River Land Trust GA$235,611 Exec Director $68,333 $66,566 2023
Dover Land Conservation Trust MA$293,352 Executive Secretary $7,510 $6,538 2023
Maine Wilderness Watershed Trust Inc ME$231,548 Director $4,500 $4,240 2024
Roaring Fork Safe Passages CO$294,998 Executive Director $84,728 $76,453 2024
Trans Cascadia Inc ID$229,395 President $5,164 $5,170 2024
Human Access Project OR$226,653 Ringleader $60,000 $52,434 2024
Texas Land Trust Council TX$300,632 Executive Director $141,477 $137,110 2023
Indigenous Conservation Council VA$302,230 Executive Director $43,333 $39,373 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MI 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 MI 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 default93rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)85th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted88th
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 (Jill A Lewis) 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 59 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C34), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $88,281 is reasonable (approximately the 93rd 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.