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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Kettle Moraine Land Trust Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 392010641
WI · NTEE C36
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Laura Klick, Executive Director / CEO ($37,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 112 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 46th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Laura Klick — reported title “MANAGING DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

112 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 112 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$480 total compensation of comparable organizations → $175,725 $37,500
$6,24410th
$17,43825th
$40,973Median
$60,50375th
$84,13390th
$37,500This org · 46th
p10$6,244
p25$17,438
p50$40,973
p75$60,503
p90$84,133
$37,500

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
Kingfisher Trails Inc OK$97,082 President & Ceo $30,000 $32,565 2023
Forestplanet Inc DC$97,102 Executive Di $13,000 $11,246 2023
Whetstone Wood Trust Fund MA$97,108 Trustee $52,178 $44,896 2024
Sarasota Bay Watch Inc FL$95,871 Executive Director $40,000 $35,053 2025
Buckeye Environmental Network OH$98,606 2025 Direcor $75,000 $76,062 2024
Hoosic River Watershed Association MA$95,496 Executive Director $38,946 $33,511 2024
Wild Tree Foundation CA$98,682 Executive Dir. $100,000 $85,124 2023
Bank Climate Advocates CA$95,372 Executive Dir. $73,483 $62,551 2023
Science And Environmental Policy Project VA$94,968 President $120,000 $110,943 2024
Pine Hollow Arboretum NY$94,881 Executive Director $63,132 $54,624 2024
Walking Humbly Outdoor Adventures Inc KY$99,435 Secretary $2,475 $2,621 2023
Logansport Water System IA$93,456 President $4,548 $4,909 2023
Muskingum Watershed Conservancy OH$100,994 Executive Director $51,704 $52,436 2024
Lake Erie Islands Historical Society OH$101,154 Board Member $12,578 $12,756 2024
The Wildwood Conservation Foundation CA$101,327 Executive Dir. $12,000 $9,922 2024
Keep Athens Limestone Beautiful Inc AL$101,656 Executive Director $39,733 $41,102 2024
Recycling Research Foundation Inc DC$102,115 Executive Director $109,074 $94,357 2023
Marsh Haven Nature Center Inc WI$91,639 Director $21,600 $21,600 2024
Tuscarora Wildlife Education Projec PA$102,741 Exec. Direct $14,400 $13,750 2024
Luesther T Mertz Legacy Trust For The DE$102,868 Trustees $45,606 $44,021 2023
Center For Renewables Integration VA$103,045 President $73,720 $70,169 2023
Jews In Tech CA$103,220 Director $20,000 $16,536 2024
Hiy Inc PA$90,485 President - Ceo $132,000 $122,795 2025
Institute For Compatible Development Inc MS$90,433 Advisory Member $34,563 $36,859 2024
Pelican Coast Conservancy Inc AL$90,337 Ceo (Non-vot $165,000 $175,725 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 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 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 default46th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)42nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted50th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted43rd

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 (Laura Klick) 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 112 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (C), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $37,500 is reasonable (approximately the 46th 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.