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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Pelican Coast Conservancy Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 474565724
AL · NTEE C32
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Robert D Keller Phd, Executive Director / CEO ($165,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 98 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 100th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Robert D Keller Phd — reported title “CEO (NON-VOT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

98 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 98 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$483 total compensation of comparable organizations → $115,300 $165,000
$6,76010th
$15,80925th
$38,060Median
$55,75075th
$79,53290th
$165,000This org · 100th
p10$6,760
p25$15,809
p50$38,060
p75$55,750
p90$79,532
$165,000

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 AL 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
Institute For Compatible Development Inc MS$90,433 Advisory Member $34,563 $34,609 2024
Hiy Inc PA$90,485 President - Ceo $132,000 $115,300 2025
Mid-michigan Land Conservancy MI$89,883 Executive Di $61,204 $56,797 2024
Marsh Haven Nature Center Inc WI$91,639 Director $21,600 $20,281 2024
Logansport Water System IA$93,456 President $4,548 $4,609 2023
Pilchuck Audubon Society WA$86,669 Director $68,165 $54,869 2024
Network Of Oregon Watershed Councils OR$86,114 Former Executive Director $17,756 $14,826 2024
Snwa Water Efficiency Improvement NV$86,082 President $114,829 $100,819 2025
Pine Hollow Arboretum NY$94,881 Executive Director $63,132 $51,291 2024
Science And Environmental Policy Project VA$94,968 President $120,000 $104,172 2024
Bank Climate Advocates CA$95,372 Executive Dir. $73,483 $58,734 2023
Hoosic River Watershed Association MA$95,496 Executive Director $38,946 $31,466 2024
Sarasota Bay Watch Inc FL$95,871 Executive Director $40,000 $32,914 2025
Kettle Moraine Land Trust Inc WI$97,080 Managing Director $37,500 $35,211 2024
Kingfisher Trails Inc OK$97,082 President & Ceo $30,000 $30,578 2023
Forestplanet Inc DC$97,102 Executive Di $13,000 $10,560 2023
Whetstone Wood Trust Fund MA$97,108 Trustee $52,178 $42,156 2024
Trails Of Mississippi Inc MS$82,843 Executive Director $63,175 $65,129 2023
Conservation Collective NC$82,427 Executive Director $24,125 $22,412 2024
Buckeye Environmental Network OH$98,606 2025 Direcor $75,000 $71,420 2024
Wild Tree Foundation CA$98,682 Executive Dir. $100,000 $79,929 2023
Walking Humbly Outdoor Adventures Inc KY$99,435 Secretary $2,475 $2,461 2023
Little Falls Watershed Alliance Inc MD$80,704 Executive Director $39,343 $34,047 2023
Clean And Sustainable Energy Fund MI$79,740 Secretary $2,330 $2,162 2024
Muskingum Watershed Conservancy OH$100,994 Executive Director $51,704 $49,236 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AL 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 AL 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 default100th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)100th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted100th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted98th

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 (Robert D Keller Phd) 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 98 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (C), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $165,000 is reasonable (approximately the 100th 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.