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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

St John Land Conservancy Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 660764277
VI · NTEE C34
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Lawrence J Taft, Executive Director / CEO ($50,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 70 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 21st percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Lawrence J Taft — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

70 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 70 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$838 total compensation of comparable organizations → $154,633 $50,000
$28,90210th
$56,38825th
$78,406Median
$90,34975th
$105,00490th
$50,000This org · 21st
p10$28,902
p25$56,388
p50$78,406
p75$90,349
p90$105,004
$50,000

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); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateRevenueMatched titleComp
(reported)
Comp
(adjusted)
FY
Mamoni Valley Preserve NV$494,048 Ceo Through July $34,942 $34,942 2023
Kingston Land Trust Inc NY$487,840 Managing Dir $60,760 $60,760 2023
Armstrong Trails Inc PA$480,308 Executive Director $52,083 $52,083 2023
Scenic Rivers Land Trust Inc MD$510,200 Executive Director $88,410 $88,410 2023
Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation MA$472,030 Executive Di $77,368 $75,148 2024
Litchfield Land Trust Inc CT$471,144 Executive Dir. $18,944 $18,944 2023
Tall Pines Conservancy WI$469,217 Executive Director $104,476 $104,476 2023
Alaska Farmland Trust Corporation AK$468,026 Executive Director (07/01/23-05/22/24) $100,458 $97,576 2024
Congaree Land Trust SC$464,575 Executive Di $83,355 $83,355 2023
Southeastern Cave Conservancy Inc TN$459,153 Executive Director $63,560 $61,736 2024
La Plata Open Space Conservancy CO$458,132 Executive Director $104,589 $104,589 2023
Grounded Strategies PA$528,161 Executive Director (Through 11/23) $96,368 $96,368 2023
New River Land Trust VA$453,108 Executive Di $84,038 $81,627 2024
Stamford Land Conservation Trust Inc CT$452,719 Director $1,130 $1,130 2023
Pacific Rim Institute For Environmental Stewardship WA$531,618 Ceo $90,829 $90,829 2023
Land Savers United VA$448,093 Executive Director $122,211 $115,645 2025
Cape Elizabeth Land Trust ME$535,730 Executive Director $57,404 $55,757 2024
Kinnickinnic River Land Trust Inc WI$445,399 Executive Director $42,500 $41,281 2024
Great Rivers Land Preservation IL$538,618 Executive Di $118,000 $114,615 2024
Manada Conservancy PA$438,318 Executive Di $78,938 $78,938 2023
Southeast Alaska Land Trust AK$435,491 Executive Di $90,180 $90,180 2023
Mother Lode Land Trust CA$430,183 Executive Dir. $60,000 $58,279 2024
St Croix International Waterway Commission ME$427,550 Executive Director $50,526 $50,526 2023
Taos Land Trust NM$422,542 Executive Di $77,377 $77,377 2023
Boulder Climbing Community CO$421,952 Executive Dir. $93,500 $90,818 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VI 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. 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 default21st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)21st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted23rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted20th

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 (Lawrence J Taft) 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 70 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C34), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $50,000 is reasonable (approximately the 21st 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.