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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

River Bend Nature Center Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 455347146
WI · NTEE C99
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jeanne Dernehl, Executive Director / CEO ($72,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 47 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 55th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

47 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 47 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,352 total compensation of comparable organizations → $245,460 $72,000
$10,03810th
$38,09325th
$64,356Median
$100,02475th
$124,30190th
$72,000This org · 55th
p10$10,038
p25$38,093
p50$64,356
p75$100,024
p90$124,301
$72,000

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 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
Youth For Environmental Sanity CA$377,943 Community Learning & Partnership $12,000 $9,637 2024
Nh Businesses For Social Responsibility NH$376,890 Advocacy Director, Past Executive Director $60,899 $50,950 2025
Triple Bottom Line Foundation CO$376,878 President/secretary $30,000 $26,754 2024
The Little Forks Conservancy Inc MI$379,505 Executive Dir. $108,087 $103,760 2024
Seattle Reconomy WA$384,298 Exec Director $43,057 $35,853 2024
Truckee Dirt Union CA$370,119 Employee $12,325 $10,191 2023
The Mid-atlantic Chapter Of The Intl Society Of Ar VA$369,824 Executive Director $71,395 $66,007 2023
Havens Harvest Inc CT$350,790 Executive Director $90,884 $79,254 2024
Earth Guardians Inc CO$410,445 Executive Director $47,297 $43,426 2023
Grand Island Area Clean Community NE$343,860 Executive Di $81,649 $81,676 2024
Bethesda Green Inc MD$341,433 Executive Director $119,508 $103,913 2024
Valley Advocates For ID$339,513 Executive Di $102,141 $101,056 2024
Brooklyn Greenway Initiative NY$421,517 Executive Director $145,144 $125,585 2023
The Houston Parks Board Foundation TX$331,722 Hpb President & Ceo $29,230 $27,193 2024
Climate Justice Hive CO$424,930 President $20,250 $18,059 2024
The Freecycle Network AZ$426,737 Executive Dir. $113,600 $98,991 2025
Northwest South Dakota Regional Landfill SD$427,317 Manager $232,277 $245,460 2023
Protect The Adirondacks Inc NY$427,840 Executive Di $117,273 $98,558 2024
Timucuan Parks Foundation Inc FL$429,807 Executive Di $2,692 $2,352 2024
Truckee Trails Foundation Inc CA$444,124 Executive Dir. $80,000 $64,248 2024
Green Chips NV$445,125 Executive Direc $143,077 $129,946 2025
Southern Indiana Cooperative Weed IN$447,066 Exec Dir Beg $10,000 $9,808 2024
Soulful Seeds NV$449,332 Executive Director $75,000 $69,919 2024
The Resource Exchange PA$303,956 Executive Director Ceo $47,168 $43,747 2024
Wilderness Louisville Inc KY$302,359 Executive Director $91,749 $91,677 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 default55th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)49th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted60th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted51st

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 (Jeanne Dernehl) 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 47 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $72,000 is reasonable (approximately the 55th 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.