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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Ivy Creek Foundation Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 541112932
VA · NTEE C600
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Susan Erhardt, Executive Director / CEO ($42,419) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 91 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 31st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Susan Erhardt — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

91 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 91 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$519 total compensation of comparable organizations → $415,412 $42,419
$19,70910th
$36,88925th
$58,495Median
$75,99875th
$97,72490th
$42,419This org · 31st
p10$19,709
p25$36,889
p50$58,495
p75$75,998
p90$97,724
$42,419

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 VA 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
Friends Of The Owyhee OR$305,136 Executive Director $88,859 $85,464 2023
Ecological Citizen's Project Inc NY$301,612 Co-director $74,360 $69,592 2023
Olympic Nature Experience WA$307,779 Exec Director $28,628 $25,784 2024
Sustainable Hudson Valley Inc NY$300,863 Executive Director $70,000 $63,632 2024
Devens Eco-efficiency Center Inc MA$300,051 Executive Director $106,037 $93,385 2025
Ravenwood Outdoor Learning Center MT$309,188 Trustee And $53,045 $59,220 2023
Community Life Collaborative OH$298,834 Executive Di $80,000 $85,238 2024
Harvest Of All First Nations CO$311,307 Chair $60,489 $58,348 2024
Institute For Climate And Peace HI$296,775 President $54,600 $50,628 2023
Wa-ya Outdoor Institute WA$294,505 Executive Director $61,934 $55,781 2024
Crowe's Nest Farm Inc TX$317,182 Vice Pres $42,000 $43,512 2023
Imago OH$291,359 Executive Director $33,772 $37,046 2023
Health Professionals For A Healthy MN$317,816 Executive Director $72,359 $71,926 2024
Discovery Pathways PA$290,379 Executive Director $72,021 $72,251 2024
Prince William Conservation Alliance VA$289,800 Executive Dir. $83,376 $83,376 2023
Families In Nature TX$319,367 Executive Dir. $88,838 $89,396 2024
M3 Ministries TX$287,081 Board Member, Ceo $78,000 $80,809 2023
Life Frames Inc CA$322,566 Executive Dir. $46,170 $41,291 2023
Green Cambridge Inc MA$281,267 Executive Director $74,500 $65,610 2025
Education Economics Environmental Climate And Heal MS$332,687 Board Member $463 $519 2024
Coral Springs Nature Center & FL$275,781 Executive Di $54,082 $51,109 2024
Sustainable San Mateo County CA$335,463 Executive Director $61,271 $54,796 2023
Maunalua Fishpond Heritage Center HI$336,176 Executive Di $72,500 $65,297 2024
The Greenhouse Project NV$336,362 Executive Di $36,907 $37,215 2024
Biodiversity For A Livable Climate MA$337,077 Executive Di $53,333 $48,212 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VA 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 VA 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 default31st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)31st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted31st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted29th

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 (Susan Erhardt) 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 91 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $42,419 is reasonable (approximately the 31st 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.