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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Madison River Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 562333733
MT · NTEE C32
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jonathan Malovich, Executive Director / CEO ($109,125) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 61 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 97th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Jonathan Malovich — reported title “FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

61 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 61 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,845 total compensation of comparable organizations → $116,965 $109,125
$7,15010th
$37,22725th
$49,740Median
$65,07075th
$88,73290th
$109,125This org · 97th
p10$7,150
p25$37,227
p50$49,740
p75$65,070
p90$88,732
$109,125

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 MT 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
Lifetides Institute SC$239,327 Vice Chair $26,500 $24,911 2024
Gull Chain Of Lakes Association MN$238,044 Secretary/tr $12,619 $11,236 2024
Hui O Koolaupoko HI$236,830 Project Director $36,775 $29,668 2024
One People One Reef CA$235,610 V Chair&co-dir. $28,000 $22,430 2023
The Great Egg Harbor Watershed Association NJ$233,111 Coordinator $51,611 $42,749 2023
Chesapeake Rivers Association Inc MD$232,603 Secretary $120,000 $101,091 2024
St Mary's River Watershed Association Inc MD$247,582 Exec. Director $47,400 $39,931 2024
Acton Wakefield Watersheds Alliance NH$248,360 Executive Di $74,862 $62,287 2024
The Beaver Coalition Inc OR$231,797 Executive Director $83,697 $70,037 2024
Smithfield Irrigation Company UT$250,811 Trustee $2,000 $1,845 2024
Pudding River Watershed Council OR$250,832 Co-executive Director $62,500 $53,844 2023
Carrolls Water Association WA$256,946 Treasurer $8,269 $6,671 2024
Resource Protection Group Inc VA$258,063 Secretary/tr $7,500 $6,525 2024
Jersey Shore Partnership Foundation Inc NJ$221,167 President $75,063 $60,389 2024
Pokegama Lake Association MN$218,503 Secretary $2,700 $2,404 2024
Project O CA$216,852 President & Ceo $54,000 $43,258 2023
Beyond Our Shores Inc RI$263,786 President $73,150 $65,070 2023
Jones River Watershed Associnc MA$264,493 Exec. Dir. $60,000 $48,584 2024
Missouri Stream Team Watershed Coalition MO$265,034 Executive Director $44,883 $42,835 2024
Malama Na Apapa HI$265,256 Director $10,000 $9,779 2020
Harney County Watershed Council Inc OR$270,607 Coordinator $52,250 $45,014 2023
Spokane River Forum WA$208,638 Executive Dir. $46,376 $36,449 2025
Jacobs Creek Watershed Association PA$208,570 Executive Director $40,240 $37,227 2023
Friends Of Deckers Creek Inc WV$208,060 Exec. Director $41,273 $40,268 2024
Trinity Edwards Springs Protection Assoc TX$207,231 Executive Dir. $43,500 $39,209 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MT 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 MT 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 default97th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)92nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted97th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted97th

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 (Jonathan Malovich) 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 61 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C32), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $109,125 is reasonable (approximately the 97th 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.