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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Friends Of The Welty Environmental Center Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 391951248
WI · NTEE C50
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Brenda Plakans, Executive Director / CEO ($41,050) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 37 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: Brenda Plakans — reported title “Executive Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

37 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 37 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$9,984 total compensation of comparable organizations → $155,547 $41,050
$28,22410th
$45,24725th
$67,240Median
$96,03075th
$115,29690th
$41,050This org · 24th
p10$28,224
p25$45,247
p50$67,240
p75$96,030
p90$115,296
$41,050

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
Green Cities Accord MN$425,247 Director Of Programs And Operations $114,105 $104,861 2024
Downtown Association Of Fairbanks AK$425,634 Executive Director $66,548 $60,921 2023
Small Town Project CO$415,800 Development Director $14,400 $13,221 2023
Mini Mart City Park WA$414,865 President $20,000 $16,653 2024
Palos Verdes Estates Foundation CA$414,730 Executive Director $50,000 $40,155 2024
Keep Knoxville Beautiful Inc TN$412,096 Executive Dir. $70,600 $67,240 2025
Alaskans For Litter Prevention And AK$439,561 Executive Dir. $113,397 $100,830 2024
Friends Of Bunker Hill MO$447,263 Executive Director $44,615 $45,247 2023
Natural Restorations AZ$400,227 Executive Director $98,807 $88,378 2024
Clean Fairfax Council VA$399,566 Executive Director $104,213 $91,171 2025
Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful IL$456,498 Executive Di $65,343 $59,746 2024
Plant It Again CA$391,678 Ceo $82,309 $66,103 2024
Hub404 Conservancy Inc GA$466,925 Executive Dir. $139,067 $130,048 2024
Next Level Productions And Promotions FL$376,467 President $11,099 $9,984 2023
Cuenca Los Ojos AZ$375,552 Executive Director $35,337 $31,607 2024
Freedom's Way Heritage Association Inc MA$483,963 Executive Director $124,378 $103,950 2024
Keep North Fulton Beautiful Inc GA$360,232 Former Executive Director $85,800 $85,993 2022
Keep Midland Beautiful Inc TX$351,019 Executive Dir. $28,413 $26,434 2024
Proud Louisiana Llc LA$348,338 Executive Di $32,667 $33,455 2024
Scenic Houston Inc TX$347,997 Executive Director $167,194 $155,547 2024
Saratoga County Foundation Inc NY$342,857 Chamber President $35,004 $29,418 2024
Neighborhood Forest Inc MN$509,462 Executive Director $75,000 $68,924 2024
Growsmart Maine ME$513,715 Executive Di $103,114 $96,030 2024
Greenscape Of Jacksonville Inc FL$325,928 Executive Di $85,000 $74,265 2024
Scenic Walton Inc FL$322,166 Executive Director $120,705 $105,461 2024

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 default24th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)19th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted27th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted19th

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 (Brenda Plakans) 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 37 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C50), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $41,050 is reasonable (approximately the 24th 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.