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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

People Against Litter

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 640764171
MS · NTEE C015
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sarah Kountouris, Executive Director / CEO ($66,678) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 40 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 55th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Sarah Kountouris — reported title “EXEC DIR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

40 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 40 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$8,024 total compensation of comparable organizations → $395,747 $66,678
$21,17510th
$39,34425th
$63,781Median
$88,74775th
$105,58690th
$66,678This org · 55th
p10$21,175
p25$39,344
p50$63,781
p75$88,747
p90$105,586
$66,678

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 MS 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
Texas Solar Energy Society Inc TX$318,355 Executive Director $95,461 $85,738 2024
Fossil Free California CA$327,050 Executive Dir. $79,782 $63,683 2023
Climate Finance Action Inc MA$305,460 President $29,077 $23,460 2024
Paddle For Peace CA$297,088 Ceo $110,000 $85,284 2024
Seneca Lake Guardian Inc NY$296,597 President $26,000 $21,718 2023
Georgia Tree Council Inc GA$343,033 Executive Di $72,663 $65,600 2024
Flathead Lakers Inc MT$291,237 Executive Director $35,025 $33,899 2024
Climate Jobs Massachusetts Inc MA$280,619 Executive Director $112,270 $90,584 2024
Purgatoire Watershed Partnership CO$277,444 Executive Di $83,113 $71,556 2024
Conservation Alabama AL$365,903 Executive Director $70,990 $68,860 2024
Pivot Clean Energy Co CO$254,866 President $14,400 $12,764 2023
Caldesal CA$253,796 Executive Di $100,837 $78,180 2024
Vermonters For A Clean Environment Inc VT$252,053 Executive Dir. $50,000 $45,186 2024
Ecological Rights Foundation CA$251,438 Executive Dir. $15,000 $11,630 2024
Passive House New England Inc MA$249,958 Executive Director $127,975 $103,255 2024
River Keepers ND$249,256 Exec. Dir. $96,768 $95,348 2024
Women For Conservation VA$242,451 Executive Director $48,000 $42,842 2023
Childhood Lead Action Project RI$394,175 Executive Director $69,270 $59,638 2024
Comal County Conservation Alliance Inc TX$237,135 Executive Dir. $62,968 $58,225 2023
Arkansas Environmental Federation Inc AR$402,813 Executive Director $97,554 $101,364 2023
Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund OH$228,737 Interim President (Term. 09/22) $8,196 $8,024 2023
Minnesota Conservation Federation MN$228,598 Executive Di $46,500 $41,255 2024
Grace Hudowalski Charitable Trust ME$407,041 Trustee $54,000 $49,984 2023
Yaak Valley Forest Council MT$410,680 Executive Di $16,828 $16,287 2024
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition CA$413,193 Executive Dir. $163,249 $126,569 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MS 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 MS 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 default55th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)43rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted60th
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 (Sarah Kountouris) 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 40 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C01), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $66,678 is reasonable (approximately the 55th 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.