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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Families In Nature

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 471614599
TX · NTEE C60
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Heather Kuhlken, Executive Director / CEO ($88,838) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 94 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 85th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Heather Kuhlken — reported title “Executive Dir.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

94 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 94 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$516 total compensation of comparable organizations → $412,817 $88,838
$15,14510th
$36,85725th
$58,366Median
$75,01475th
$99,71290th
$88,838This org · 85th
p10$15,145
p25$36,857
p50$58,366
p75$75,014
p90$99,712
$88,838

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 TX 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
Health Professionals For A Healthy MN$317,816 Executive Director $72,359 $71,477 2024
Crowe's Nest Farm Inc TX$317,182 Vice Pres $42,000 $43,241 2023
Life Frames Inc CA$322,566 Executive Dir. $46,170 $41,033 2023
Harvest Of All First Nations CO$311,307 Chair $60,489 $57,984 2024
Ravenwood Outdoor Learning Center MT$309,188 Trustee And $53,045 $58,850 2023
Olympic Nature Experience WA$307,779 Exec Director $28,628 $25,623 2024
Education Economics Environmental Climate And Heal MS$332,687 Board Member $463 $516 2024
Friends Of The Owyhee OR$305,136 Executive Director $88,859 $84,931 2023
Ivy Creek Foundation Inc VA$304,497 Executive Di $42,419 $42,154 2023
Sustainable San Mateo County CA$335,463 Executive Director $61,271 $54,454 2023
Maunalua Fishpond Heritage Center HI$336,176 Executive Di $72,500 $64,890 2024
The Greenhouse Project NV$336,362 Executive Di $36,907 $36,983 2024
Biodiversity For A Livable Climate MA$337,077 Executive Di $53,333 $47,911 2024
Ecological Citizen's Project Inc NY$301,612 Co-director $74,360 $69,157 2023
Friends Of San Damiano Inc WI$337,155 Director $11,760 $12,278 2024
Sustainable Hudson Valley Inc NY$300,863 Executive Director $70,000 $63,234 2024
The Outside Foundation SC$338,141 Executive Di $45,833 $47,800 2024
Devens Eco-efficiency Center Inc MA$300,051 Executive Director $106,037 $92,802 2025
Community Life Collaborative OH$298,834 Executive Di $80,000 $84,706 2024
Oklahoma Energy Education Foundation OK$341,930 Executive Director $17,282 $19,585 2023
Institute For Climate And Peace HI$296,775 President $54,600 $50,312 2023
Global Inheritance Inc CA$342,197 Executive Di $30,508 $27,113 2023
Wa-ya Outdoor Institute WA$294,505 Executive Director $61,934 $55,433 2024
Perennial MO$345,969 Executive Director $54,900 $58,129 2024
Parking Reform Network OR$347,252 President $30,000 $27,851 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TX 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 TX 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 default85th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)84th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted87th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted83rd

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 (Heather Kuhlken) 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 94 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $88,838 is reasonable (approximately the 85th 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.