Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Karen Cowan, Executive Director / CEO ($293,629) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 610 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 94th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended
Benchmarked executive: Karen Cowan — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.
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 CA cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.
| Organization | State | Revenue | Matched title | Comp (reported) | Comp (adjusted) | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Wildlife Federation Action Fund | DC | $2,899,328 | Executive Director | $219,395 | $222,959 | 2024 |
| Washington Maritime Blue | WA | $2,899,277 | Ceo | $208,676 | $222,753 | 2023 |
| Natural Areas Conservancy Inc | NY | $2,899,247 | Executive Dir. | $258,996 | $271,031 | 2024 |
| Fort Campbell Historical Foundation | KY | $2,904,612 | President/ce | $175,000 | $224,166 | 2023 |
| 350 Seattle | WA | $2,892,979 | Executive Director | $99,320 | $102,978 | 2024 |
| 🔒 605 more comparable organizations — included in the purchased report | ||||||
Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA cost of living and 2024 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.
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 CA 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.
Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:
| Basis | Subject percentile |
|---|---|
| Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default | 94th |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 96th |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 95th |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 93rd |
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.
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:
Ready-to-adopt board minutes — executive compensation
🔒 The complete minutes language — three numbered resolutions pre-filled with this organization, the 610-organization comparison, the date, and the percentile finding, ready to paste into your minutes — is included in the purchased report.
Unlock the board report — $49Running reports for this organization all year? Annual Org Pass — $99/yr.
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 10, 2026.