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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Fish Reef Project

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 452587074
CA · NTEE C32
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Chris Goldblatt, Executive Director / CEO ($27,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 31 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 19th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

31 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 31 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$581 total compensation of comparable organizations → $142,627 $27,000
$13,49010th
$41,46325th
$57,535Median
$73,48075th
$90,73290th
$27,000This org · 19th
p10$13,490
p25$41,463
p50$57,535
p75$73,480
p90$90,732
$27,000

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 CA 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
Coastal Watershed Institute WA$138,944 Executive Director $560 $581 2024
The Downstream Project VA$145,658 Executive Director $65,076 $72,766 2024
Wentworth Watershed Association NH$145,870 Executive Director $77,861 $83,259 2024
International Society Of Limnology-sil NC$145,957 Editor In Chief-inland Waters $5,000 $5,983 2024
The Pennsylvania Pink Zone PA$148,218 Executive Director $50,085 $56,351 2025
Altamaha Riverkeeper Inc GA$148,849 Executive Director $77,920 $90,732 2024
Truckee River Foundation NV$132,667 Executive Director $111,826 $129,810 2024
Seaside Sustainability Inc MA$132,364 Executive Director $65,631 $70,318 2023
Streets Run Watershed Association PA$153,299 Executive Director $88,000 $101,629 2024
Werkin Outdoors NC$153,506 Committee Chair $28,037 $33,549 2024
Storm Drain Protection Act Inc FL$124,705 Executive Di $79,500 $86,490 2024
Nansemond River Preservation Alliance VA$157,999 Presidentceo $79,500 $88,895 2024
Brodheads Watershed Corporation PA$159,342 Executive Director (Until 10/2023) $53,190 $63,242 2023
Westlake Aquatic Center Inc MO$161,905 Staff $7,457 $9,147 2024
Upstream Watch ME$163,974 Executive Director $63,000 $73,057 2024
Pennsylvania Lake Management Society PA$168,728 Executive Director $54,815 $63,304 2024
Watershed Restoration Coalition For The MT$112,825 Secretary/bookkeeper $10,496 $13,490 2023
Tennessee Riverkeeper AL$174,228 Executive Di $114,000 $142,627 2024
Idaho Association Of Soil Conservation ID$176,628 Executive Director $42,000 $53,271 2023
Friends Of The Shiawassee River MI$177,141 Exec Directo $46,752 $57,535 2023
Lake Worth Lagoon Environmental Defense FL$180,852 Executive Direc $15,701 $17,586 2023
Pozo De Agua Inc PR$181,070 President $21,020 $21,020 2024
Sarasota Bay Watch Inc FL$95,871 Executive Director $40,000 $42,395 2025
Hoosic River Watershed Association MA$95,496 Executive Director $38,946 $40,530 2024
Friends Of Palm Beach Inc FL$188,309 President $60,000 $65,275 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA 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 CA 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 default19th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)19th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted19th
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 (Chris Goldblatt) 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 31 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C32), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $27,000 is reasonable (approximately the 19th 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.