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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Nature Of Cities

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 461668772
NY · NTEE C60
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of David Maddox, Executive Director / CEO ($28,850) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 62 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 11th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: David Maddox — reported title “EXECTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

62 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 62 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$555 total compensation of comparable organizations → $443,876 $28,850
$27,84810th
$39,33325th
$56,178Median
$76,08475th
$92,38390th
$28,850This org · 11th
p10$27,848
p25$39,333
p50$56,178
p75$76,084
p90$92,383
$28,850

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 NY 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
Sjvwater CA$225,385 Ceo/editor $50,638 $48,389 2023
Earthreports Inc MD$228,798 Ceo $15,461 $15,996 2023
Between The Rivers Nature Center ME$222,910 President $11,720 $12,615 2024
Barnacles And Bees WA$232,671 Executive Director $40,784 $39,249 2024
Wisconsin Woodland Owners WI$218,332 Executive Di $82,400 $92,501 2024
Empire Discovery Institute Inc NY$234,954 Interim Ceo $443,876 $443,876 2023
Patagonia Area Resource Alliance AZ$217,200 Co Chair And Mission Coordinator $29,466 $31,360 2023
Delray Beach Children's Garden Inc FL$215,927 President $39,996 $41,580 2023
Champions Kids Camp Inc TX$215,477 President $41,460 $44,580 2024
Willow Bend Environmental Education Center AZ$238,896 Ceo $56,991 $57,396 2025
Kittitas Environmental Education Network WA$213,581 Environmental Education Director $33,804 $32,532 2024
Shinnecock Kelp Farmers Incorporated NY$239,935 Board Member $70,868 $68,835 2024
Outdoor Inclusion Coalition PA$212,979 President & $80,000 $85,754 2024
Native Lands Restoration Collaborative KS$208,857 Executive Director $51,875 $60,240 2024
Environmental Education Council Of Oh In OH$205,932 Executive Director $56,255 $65,937 2023
The Charles Koiner Center For Urban Farming Incorporated MD$204,075 Executive Director $34,992 $35,165 2024
Gari Group Inc NY$250,000 President $9,900 $9,900 2023
Huneebee Project Inc CT$202,026 Executive Director $59,616 $61,858 2023
We Are Neutral Inc FL$251,714 Executive Director $62,400 $63,011 2024
Hawaii Seafood Council HI$251,749 Executive Director $51,000 $49,081 2024
Justme For Justus ME$252,348 Director $49,244 $53,003 2024
Triple Bottom Line Institute Incorporated FL$252,750 President $78,517 $81,627 2023
Teens Take On Climate Inc WI$253,820 President $135,499 $152,110 2024
Growing Communities Inc CA$253,966 President $147,531 $140,980 2023
Agramonte Ranch Research And CA$198,920 Ceo $82,591 $76,659 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY 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 NY 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 default11th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)15th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted13th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted10th

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 (David Maddox) 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 62 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $28,850 is reasonable (approximately the 11th 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.