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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

New River Land Trust

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 542053383
VA · NTEE C34
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of John R Eustis, Executive Director / CEO ($84,038) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 70 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 56th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

70 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 70 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$981 total compensation of comparable organizations → $165,785 $84,038
$37,28210th
$55,88525th
$82,036Median
$96,02675th
$111,00490th
$84,038This org · 56th
p10$37,282
p25$55,885
p50$82,036
p75$96,026
p90$111,004
$84,038

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
Stamford Land Conservation Trust Inc CT$452,719 Director $1,130 $1,129 2023
Land Savers United VA$448,093 Executive Director $122,211 $119,061 2025
La Plata Open Space Conservancy CO$458,132 Executive Director $104,589 $106,935 2023
Southeastern Cave Conservancy Inc TN$459,153 Executive Director $63,560 $69,195 2024
Kinnickinnic River Land Trust Inc WI$445,399 Executive Director $42,500 $45,969 2024
Congaree Land Trust SC$464,575 Executive Di $83,355 $92,723 2023
Manada Conservancy PA$438,318 Executive Di $78,938 $83,937 2023
Alaska Farmland Trust Corporation AK$468,026 Executive Director (07/01/23-05/22/24) $100,458 $99,470 2024
Tall Pines Conservancy WI$469,217 Executive Director $104,476 $116,343 2023
Southeast Alaska Land Trust AK$435,491 Executive Di $90,180 $91,931 2023
Litchfield Land Trust Inc CT$471,144 Executive Dir. $18,944 $18,940 2023
Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation MA$472,030 Executive Di $77,368 $72,005 2024
Mother Lode Land Trust CA$430,183 Executive Dir. $60,000 $53,659 2024
St Croix International Waterway Commission ME$427,550 Executive Director $50,526 $53,947 2023
Armstrong Trails Inc PA$480,308 Executive Director $52,083 $55,381 2023
Taos Land Trust NM$422,542 Executive Di $77,377 $88,740 2023
Boulder Climbing Community CO$421,952 Executive Dir. $93,500 $92,855 2024
Agricultural-natural Resources Trust CA$421,733 Executive Dir. $90,405 $83,238 2023
Cacapon And Lost Rivers Land Tr Inc WV$419,733 Executive Director $83,100 $93,187 2024
Kingston Land Trust Inc NY$487,840 Managing Dir $60,760 $58,544 2023
St John Land Conservancy Inc VI$491,679 President $50,000 $51,477 2023
Mamoni Valley Preserve NV$494,048 Ceo Through July $34,942 $37,346 2023
Hilltown Land Trust Inc MA$409,978 Executive Director $1,979 $1,842 2024
Archangel Ancient Tree Archive MI$403,111 Executive Di $85,000 $90,865 2024
Ohio Land Bank Association OH$396,642 Executive Di $86,884 $98,122 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VA 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 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 default56th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)60th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted60th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted56th

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 (John R Eustis) 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 70 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C34), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $84,038 is reasonable (approximately the 56th 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.