Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Carlton Layne, Executive Director / CEO ($20,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 80 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 24th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations
Benchmarked executive: Carlton Layne — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.
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.
| Organization | State | Revenue | Matched title | Comp (reported) | Comp (adjusted) | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Coastal Conservancy | FL | $180,492 | President | $35,250 | $32,083 | 2024 |
| Kentucky Heartwood Inc | KY | $178,102 | Executive Di | $52,974 | $56,769 | 2023 |
| Rural Land Foundation Of Lincoln | MA | $176,486 | Executive Director | $176,952 | $154,056 | 2024 |
| Na Mamo Aloha Aina O Honokohau | HI | $175,740 | Secretary | $2,400 | $2,082 | 2024 |
| Tahoma Audubon Society | WA | $174,454 | Executive Director | $58,031 | $51,823 | 2023 |
| Reshoring Initiative | FL | $173,066 | President | $28,932 | $27,110 | 2023 |
| Missouri Parks Association | MO | $170,375 | Executive Di | $51,200 | $54,090 | 2023 |
| Ocean Fest Inc | NC | $195,966 | Event Operations Manager | $22,917 | $23,619 | 2023 |
| The Urban Wildlands Group Inc | CA | $159,953 | President | $45,300 | $39,017 | 2023 |
| Integrated Vegetation Management Partners Inc | DE | $158,016 | President | $133,800 | $130,677 | 2023 |
| Overland Expo Foundation Incorporated | IN | $202,559 | Executive Director | $32,000 | $32,694 | 2024 |
| One Earth Conservation | NY | $202,605 | Vice President & Secretary | $22,982 | $20,120 | 2024 |
| Coastal Resources Group Inc | FL | $157,240 | Past Pres/treas/director | $70,728 | $66,274 | 2023 |
| Downwinders At Risk Education Fund | TX | $203,759 | Executive Dir. | $43,750 | $42,400 | 2024 |
| Conservation Technology Accelerator Inc | CA | $156,240 | President | $13,499 | $11,293 | 2024 |
| Cross Vermont Trail Assocation Inc | VT | $155,037 | Executive Director | $23,000 | $23,091 | 2023 |
| Restoring The Lake Depths | NV | $205,234 | Executive Dir. | $69,856 | $67,840 | 2024 |
| Coastal Shores Inc | VA | $205,828 | President | $42,769 | $40,008 | 2024 |
| Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association Inc | WI | $206,383 | President | $6,000 | $6,071 | 2024 |
| Blue Mountains Forest Partners | OR | $206,916 | Executive Dir. | $77,700 | $69,908 | 2024 |
| The North Skunk River Greenbelt Association | IA | $207,310 | Treasurer Executive Director | $16,273 | $17,773 | 2023 |
| Paddle Antrim | MI | $207,391 | Executive Di | $80,128 | $80,128 | 2024 |
| Netcorps | OR | $207,493 | Executive Di | $67,458 | $60,693 | 2024 |
| Monterey Audubon Society | CA | $208,868 | Executive Director | $27,221 | $22,186 | 2025 |
| Ocean Agency | RI | $209,769 | President & Ceo | $105,173 | $97,705 | 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 2024 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.
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.
Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:
| Basis | Subject percentile |
|---|---|
| Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default | 24th |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 21st |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 26th |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 24th |
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.
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
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.