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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

1000 Friends Of Wisconsin

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 391857262
WI · NTEE C015
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Deb Nemeth, Executive Director / CEO ($82,527) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 36 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 81st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

36 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 36 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,586 total compensation of comparable organizations → $106,956 $82,527
$10,18010th
$23,85125th
$55,033Median
$77,19875th
$96,29990th
$82,527This org · 81st
p10$10,180
p25$23,851
p50$55,033
p75$77,198
p90$96,299
$82,527

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 WI 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
More Action For Regeneration Inc FL$219,764 Treasurer / Executive Director $40,000 $34,948 2024
Minnesota Conservation Federation MN$228,598 Executive Di $46,500 $42,733 2024
Whaleman International Ltd HI$211,410 President Director Treasurer $59,750 $49,753 2024
Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund OH$228,737 Interim President (Term. 09/22) $8,196 $8,312 2023
Ashland Climate Collaborative OR$211,127 Executive Director $42,758 $36,930 2024
New Mexico Recycling Coalition NM$209,215 Executive Director $96,382 $99,261 2023
Cayuga Lake Watershed Network Inc NY$206,879 Executive Director $73,320 $63,440 2023
The Hourglass Foundation PA$205,053 Executive Di $82,708 $76,710 2024
St Louis River Alliance MN$203,974 Executive Director $71,817 $67,949 2023
Comal County Conservation Alliance Inc TX$237,135 Executive Dir. $62,968 $60,312 2023
San Leandro 2050 CA$202,590 Ceo $8,000 $6,615 2023
Urban Greenspaces Institute OR$200,278 Executive Di $8,666 $7,706 2023
Women For Conservation VA$242,451 Executive Director $48,000 $44,377 2023
Big Bend Conservation Alliance TX$197,362 Executive Director $79,725 $74,172 2024
National Environmental Policy And Law Center Inc MA$196,319 Clerk, Director, Litigation Director $122,431 $105,345 2023
Happiness Project CO$195,474 President $47,255 $43,387 2023
Spanish Peaks Alliance For Wildfire CO$195,214 Executive Director $18,586 $16,575 2024
River Keepers ND$249,256 Exec. Dir. $96,768 $98,766 2024
Passive House New England Inc MA$249,958 Executive Director $127,975 $106,956 2024
Ecological Rights Foundation CA$251,438 Executive Dir. $15,000 $12,047 2024
Vermonters For A Clean Environment Inc VT$252,053 Executive Dir. $50,000 $46,806 2024
Caldesal CA$253,796 Executive Di $100,837 $80,982 2024
Pivot Clean Energy Co CO$254,866 President $14,400 $13,221 2023
Whidbey Environmental Action Network WA$175,262 Executive Director $87,880 $75,337 2023
Ohio Forestry Association Foundation Inc OH$171,122 Executive Director $2,550 $2,586 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WI 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 WI 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 default81st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)69th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted81st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted78th

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 (Deb Nemeth) 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 36 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C01), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $82,527 is reasonable (approximately the 81st 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.