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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Science & Environmental Council Of

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 651102028
FL · NTEE C30
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jennifer Shafer, Executive Director / CEO ($24,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 146 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 6th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

How comparable organizations were selected

146 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 146 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$8,850 total compensation of comparable organizations → $239,318 $24,000
$33,74210th
$53,82725th
$71,575Median
$88,89875th
$110,04990th
$24,000This org · 6th
p10$33,742
p25$53,827
p50$71,575
p75$88,898
p90$110,049
$24,000

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 FL cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateTotal revenueTotal compSource
Mt Mountain MamasMT $389,821$89,163 990
Ocean Futures Society IncCA $384,635$74,647 990
Community Cloud Forest ConservationMN $390,975$37,025 990
Otsego County ConservationNY $383,328$65,311 990
Maui Ocean Center Marine InstituteHI $393,546$62,647 990
Putnam Land Conservancy IncFL $394,090$62,326 990
Southern Maryland Rc&d Board IncMD $395,050$43,822 990
Cahaba Riverkeeper IncAL $378,985$84,706 990
Friends Of Baxter State ParkME $396,313$96,083 990
Resilience Alliance IncMA $377,838$10,655 990
For A Better BayouLA $377,663$95,635 990
Change Is Simple IncMA $399,789$72,094 990
Friends Of Illinois Nature PreservesIL $405,851$71,154 990
Eel River Recovery Project IncCA $368,368$71,995 990
Fungi Foundation IncNY $407,817$54,503 990
Yellow Dog Community And ConservationMT $409,274$89,514 990
Rivanna Conservation AllianceVA $364,992$33,194 990
Alliance For The Wild Rockies IncMT $364,633$117,926 990
Billings TrailnetMT $364,583$86,429 990
Friends Of The Delaware Canal IncPA $364,269$84,445 990
Fox Haven Center IncMD $410,766$65,086 990
Living Observatory IncMA $364,058$39,384 990
Chattanooga Audubon SocietyTN $411,485$58,019 990
Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed Land & WateFL $361,353$88,866 990
The CrestOR $360,557$63,692 990

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 FL 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 default6th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)7th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted10th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted5th

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 (Jennifer Shafer) 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 146 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $24,000 is reasonable (approximately the 6th 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). 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.