Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

American Academy For Park And

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 431265346
WA · NTEE N32B
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jane Adams, Executive Director / CEO ($17,307) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 40 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 18th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Jane Adams — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

40 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 40 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,020 total compensation of comparable organizations → $219,722 $17,307
$5,55710th
$33,46225th
$65,751Median
$87,30075th
$107,72190th
$17,307This org · 18th
p10$5,557
p25$33,462
p50$65,751
p75$87,300
p90$107,721
$17,307

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 WA 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
Mccoy Farm And Gardens TN$274,627 Employee Executive Director $75,000 $88,054 2024
Parkway Council Foundation PA$271,602 Executive Di $115,000 $131,876 2023
Scott Community Golf Course Inc KS$270,783 Employee $55,312 $68,715 2023
Downtown San Diego Public Spaces CA$296,290 President And Ceo $8,270 $7,976 2024
Lititz Springs Park Inc PA$258,164 Treasurer $916 $1,020 2024
Santa Barbara County Trails Council CA$299,723 Executive Director $60,000 $57,869 2024
Friends Of Wisconsin State Parks Inc WI$300,825 Executive Director $68,520 $79,928 2024
Tahoe-pyramid Trail Inc NV$304,263 Executive Dir. $69,428 $77,731 2024
World Trails Network - Hub For The Americas NH$305,579 Chair $5,000 $5,309 2023
Grand Rapids Whitewater Inc MI$247,817 President/ce $185,120 $219,722 2023
Montana Skatepark Association MT$246,471 President $7,500 $9,297 2023
High Peaks Alliance ME$314,954 Executive Di $86,440 $99,533 2023
Ranger Snowmobile Atv Club Inc MN$240,822 President $1,225 $1,392 2023
Los Angeles River State Park Partners CA$239,039 Executive Director $73,376 $72,859 2023
David Allen Memorial Ballpark Inc OK$236,278 Executive Director $97,000 $119,300 2024
Mendocino Area Parks Association CA$235,492 Vice President $34,994 $34,748 2023
Ocmulgee National Park & Preserve GA$234,575 Executive Di $76,000 $87,874 2023
The Faribault Ice Arena Association MN$233,841 President $34,257 $38,925 2023
Presque Isle Partnership Inc PA$324,230 Executive Director $75,059 $86,074 2023
Castle Rock Parks And Trails Founda CO$329,215 Executive Di $19,192 $21,162 2023
Montana State Parks Foundation MT$210,237 Executive Director $77,241 $90,600 2025
Top Of Michigan Trails Council MI$347,614 Executive Dir. $90,084 $103,855 2024
Friends Of International Friendship Park CA$350,167 Executive Dir. $36,000 $34,721 2024
United Parks As One NJ$352,284 Treasurer $5,600 $5,585 2024
Friends Of The Fort Collins Bicycle Program Inc CO$200,330 Executive Director Until 91 $65,393 $72,105 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WA 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 WA 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 default18th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)20th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted18th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted15th

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 (Jane Adams) 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 40 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (N32), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $17,307 is reasonable (approximately the 18th 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.