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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 510192908
WA · NTEE C410
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Mari Ripp, Executive Director / CEO ($14,350) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 613 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: Mari Ripp — reported title “Executive Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

613 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 613 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$340 total compensation of comparable organizations → $461,234 $14,350
$13,65810th
$36,89225th
$64,989Median
$87,53875th
$118,36290th
$14,350This org · 11th
p10$13,658
p25$36,892
p50$64,989
p75$87,538
p90$118,362
$14,350

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 WA 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
Releaf Michigan Inc MI$266,223 Board Mbr/ex $35,000 $40,350 2024
The Glacier-two Medicine Alliance MT$266,036 Executive Dir. $67,500 $83,670 2023
Greater Sacramento Regional CA$266,443 Executive Dir. $36,117 $34,834 2024
Florida Springs Council Inc FL$266,482 Executive Director $79,512 $85,895 2023
Pacific Coast Salmon Coalition WA$266,547 Executive Dir. $51,155 $51,155 2024
Friends Of The Childrens Eternal Rainforest MO$266,547 Executive Director $41,950 $51,093 2023
Malama Na Apapa HI$265,256 Director $10,000 $12,121 2020
Pacific Beach Coalition CA$265,137 President $52,000 $50,153 2024
New Power Tour Inc MI$265,115 Managing Director $15,000 $17,293 2024
Missouri Stream Team Watershed Coalition MO$265,034 Executive Director $44,883 $53,097 2024
Isle Royale Natural History Association MI$267,731 Executive Director $49,907 $59,235 2023
Jones River Watershed Associnc MA$264,493 Exec. Dir. $60,000 $60,222 2024
Kahaluu Kuahewa HI$264,425 Executive Di $57,793 $57,793 2024
The Greenwich Tree Conservancy Inc CT$264,196 Executive Director $54,590 $58,858 2023
Beyond Our Shores Inc RI$263,786 President $73,150 $80,659 2023
Greater Oregon City Watershed Council OR$263,413 Executive Dir. $78,680 $81,611 2024
Citizens Caring For Clearlake CA$268,914 President & Ceo $4,050 $3,906 2024
Wilderness Volunteers Giving Something Back AZ$269,117 Executive Director $69,457 $74,610 2024
Phoenix Conservancy WA$269,220 Madagascar Project Manager $42,068 $43,311 2023
Land Trust Of The Treasure Valley ID$263,019 Executive Director (1 Month) $84,000 $102,755 2023
Madison-morgan Conservancy Inc GA$269,398 Executive Dir $110,315 $127,549 2023
Friends Of Black Rock High Rock Inc NV$269,445 Former Director $10,500 $11,756 2024
Wareham Land Trust Inc MA$262,864 Executive Dir. $47,878 $49,474 2023
Block Island Conservancy Inc RI$269,646 Executive Director $53,365 $57,154 2024
Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy MI$262,599 Executive Director $88,281 $104,783 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WA 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 WA 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)11th
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 (Mari Ripp) 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 613 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (C), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $14,350 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.