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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 474903967
OH · NTEE C01
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Trish Demeter, Executive Director / CEO ($8,196) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 36 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 8th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

How comparable organizations were selected

36 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 36 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,550 total compensation of comparable organizations → $105,462 $8,196
$12,04610th
$31,83625th
$61,012Median
$76,69175th
$94,95490th
$8,196This org · 8th
p10$12,046
p25$31,836
p50$61,012
p75$76,691
p90$94,954
$8,196

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 OH cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateTotal revenueTotal compSource
Minnesota Conservation FederationMN $228,598$42,137 990
Comal County Conservation Alliance IncTX $237,135$59,470 990
1000 Friends Of WisconsinWI $220,033$81,375 990
More Action For Regeneration IncFL $219,764$34,460 990
Women For ConservationVA $242,451$43,758 990
Whaleman International LtdHI $211,410$49,058 990
Ashland Climate CollaborativeOR $211,127$36,414 990
New Mexico Recycling CoalitionNM $209,215$97,875 990
River KeepersND $249,256$97,387 990
Passive House New England IncMA $249,958$105,462 990
Cayuga Lake Watershed Network IncNY $206,879$62,554 990
Ecological Rights FoundationCA $251,438$11,879 990
Vermonters For A Clean Environment IncVT $252,053$46,153 990
The Hourglass FoundationPA $205,053$75,638 990
St Louis River AllianceMN $203,974$67,000 990
CaldesalCA $253,796$79,851 990
Pivot Clean Energy CoCO $254,866$13,037 990
San Leandro 2050CA $202,590$6,522 990
Urban Greenspaces InstituteOR $200,278$7,598 990
Big Bend Conservation AllianceTX $197,362$73,136 990
National Environmental Policy And Law Center IncMA $196,319$103,874 990
Happiness ProjectCO $195,474$42,781 990
Spanish Peaks Alliance For WildfireCO $195,214$16,344 990
Purgatoire Watershed PartnershipCO $277,444$73,086 990
Climate Jobs Massachusetts IncMA $280,619$92,520 990

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 OH 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 default8th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)6th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted3rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted69th

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 (Trish Demeter) 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 36 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C01), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $8,196 is reasonable (approximately the 8th 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). 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.