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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

River Keepers

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 450417429
ND · NTEE C013
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Christine Holland, Executive Director / CEO ($96,768) 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 92nd percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Christine Holland — reported title “Exec. Dir.”, 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

$2,533 total compensation of comparable organizations → $104,793 $96,768
$9,97410th
$31,63425th
$60,625Median
$74,15075th
$89,47490th
$96,768This org · 92nd
p10$9,974
p25$31,634
p50$60,625
p75$74,150
p90$89,474
$96,768

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 ND 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
Passive House New England Inc MA$249,958 Executive Director $127,975 $104,793 2024
Ecological Rights Foundation CA$251,438 Executive Dir. $15,000 $11,803 2024
Vermonters For A Clean Environment Inc VT$252,053 Executive Dir. $50,000 $45,859 2024
Caldesal CA$253,796 Executive Di $100,837 $79,344 2024
Pivot Clean Energy Co CO$254,866 President $14,400 $12,954 2023
Women For Conservation VA$242,451 Executive Director $48,000 $43,480 2023
Comal County Conservation Alliance Inc TX$237,135 Executive Dir. $62,968 $59,092 2023
Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund OH$228,737 Interim President (Term. 09/22) $8,196 $8,144 2023
Minnesota Conservation Federation MN$228,598 Executive Di $46,500 $41,869 2024
Purgatoire Watershed Partnership CO$277,444 Executive Di $83,113 $72,621 2024
1000 Friends Of Wisconsin WI$220,033 Executive Director $82,527 $80,858 2023
More Action For Regeneration Inc FL$219,764 Treasurer / Executive Director $40,000 $34,242 2024
Climate Jobs Massachusetts Inc MA$280,619 Executive Director $112,270 $91,933 2024
Whaleman International Ltd HI$211,410 President Director Treasurer $59,750 $48,746 2024
Ashland Climate Collaborative OR$211,127 Executive Director $42,758 $36,183 2024
New Mexico Recycling Coalition NM$209,215 Executive Director $96,382 $97,253 2023
Flathead Lakers Inc MT$291,237 Executive Director $35,025 $34,404 2024
Cayuga Lake Watershed Network Inc NY$206,879 Executive Director $73,320 $62,157 2023
The Hourglass Foundation PA$205,053 Executive Di $82,708 $75,158 2024
St Louis River Alliance MN$203,974 Executive Director $71,817 $66,574 2023
San Leandro 2050 CA$202,590 Ceo $8,000 $6,481 2023
Seneca Lake Guardian Inc NY$296,597 President $26,000 $22,041 2023
Paddle For Peace CA$297,088 Ceo $110,000 $86,554 2024
Urban Greenspaces Institute OR$200,278 Executive Di $8,666 $7,550 2023
Big Bend Conservation Alliance TX$197,362 Executive Director $79,725 $72,671 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to ND 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 ND 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 default92nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)86th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted92nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted89th

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 (Christine Holland) 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 $96,768 is reasonable (approximately the 92nd 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.