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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Conservation Alabama

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 631221685
AL · NTEE C01
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of James Bradley Davidson, Executive Director / CEO ($70,990) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 49 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 53rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: James Bradley Davidson — reported title “Executive Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

49 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 49 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$11,989 total compensation of comparable organizations → $407,987 $70,990
$21,74910th
$46,39425th
$68,740Median
$93,38575th
$108,72490th
$70,990This org · 53rd
p10$21,749
p25$46,394
p50$68,740
p75$93,385
p90$108,724
$70,990

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 AL 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
Georgia Tree Council Inc GA$343,033 Executive Di $72,663 $67,628 2024
Childhood Lead Action Project RI$394,175 Executive Director $69,270 $61,482 2024
Arkansas Environmental Federation Inc AR$402,813 Executive Director $97,554 $104,499 2023
Fossil Free California CA$327,050 Executive Dir. $79,782 $65,653 2023
Grace Hudowalski Charitable Trust ME$407,041 Trustee $54,000 $51,530 2023
Yaak Valley Forest Council MT$410,680 Executive Di $16,828 $16,791 2024
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition CA$413,193 Executive Dir. $163,249 $130,483 2024
Texas Solar Energy Society Inc TX$318,355 Executive Director $95,461 $88,390 2024
People Against Litter MS$317,549 Exec Dir $66,678 $68,740 2024
Great Rivers Habitat Alliance MO$415,631 Executive Di $151,408 $152,824 2023
Urban Water Institute Inc CA$418,696 Executive Dir. $48,430 $38,710 2024
Climate Finance Action Inc MA$305,460 President $29,077 $24,186 2024
Western Leaders Network CO$432,415 Executive Dir. $110,053 $97,680 2024
Paddle For Peace CA$297,088 Ceo $110,000 $87,922 2024
Seneca Lake Guardian Inc NY$296,597 President $26,000 $22,390 2023
Flathead Lakers Inc MT$291,237 Executive Director $35,025 $34,947 2024
Rochester Ecology Partners Inc NY$444,273 Executive Director $59,112 $49,443 2024
Snake River Waterkeeper Inc ID$444,677 Executive Dir. $402,446 $407,987 2023
Bluedot Institute Inc CA$445,571 Executive Director $74,712 $59,717 2024
Roaring Fork Valley Wildfire Collaborative CO$448,807 Executive Director $90,000 $79,882 2024
Climate Jobs Massachusetts Inc MA$280,619 Executive Director $112,270 $93,385 2024
Purgatoire Watershed Partnership CO$277,444 Executive Di $83,113 $73,769 2024
Powder River Basin Resource Council WY$463,151 Executive Di $41,543 $41,177 2024
Brighter Green Inc NY$463,273 Executive Di $35,000 $30,140 2023
Minnesota Environmental Partnership MN$464,205 Executive Director $154,029 $140,880 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AL 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 AL 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 default53rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)47th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted45th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted53rd

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 (James Bradley Davidson) 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 49 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C01), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $70,990 is reasonable (approximately the 53rd 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.