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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Model Forest Policy Program

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 743242219
ID · NTEE C36
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dr Nancy Gilliam, Executive Director / CEO ($30,640) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 542 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 25th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Dr Nancy Gilliam — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIR.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

542 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 542 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$485 total compensation of comparable organizations → $388,184 $30,640
$11,40110th
$30,66725th
$52,467Median
$72,26975th
$95,78290th
$30,640This org · 25th
p10$11,401
p25$30,667
p50$52,467
p75$72,269
p90$95,782
$30,640

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 ID 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
Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center I NY$231,005 President/founder $92,223 $83,959 2022
Mo Hives Kc MO$230,471 Executive Director $34,900 $34,748 2024
Maine Wilderness Watershed Trust Inc ME$231,548 Director $4,500 $4,236 2024
Passivhausmaine ME$231,619 Executive Director $72,995 $70,739 2023
The Beaver Coalition Inc OR$231,797 Executive Director $83,697 $73,065 2024
Material Innovation Institute CA$231,821 Chief Executive Officer (Thru July) $82,609 $67,056 2024
New York Greengrass Association Inc NY$229,847 Executive Director $65,000 $55,214 2024
Norfolk Botanical Garden Foundation VA$232,257 Secretary $183,102 $166,192 2024
Trans Cascadia Inc ID$229,395 President $5,164 $5,164 2024
Chesapeake Rivers Association Inc MD$232,603 Secretary $120,000 $105,462 2024
Barnacles And Bees WA$232,671 Executive Director $40,784 $34,325 2024
The Great Egg Harbor Watershed Association NJ$233,111 Coordinator $51,611 $44,596 2023
Earthreports Inc MD$228,798 Ceo $15,461 $13,989 2023
Bull Run Mountains Conservancy Inc VA$228,778 Executive Director $127,013 $112,311 2025
Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund OH$228,737 Interim President (Term. 09/22) $8,196 $8,401 2023
Minnesota Conservation Federation MN$228,598 Executive Di $46,500 $43,192 2024
Keep The Midlands Beautiful SC$233,516 Executive Di $55,867 $54,788 2024
Communitopia PA$233,566 Executive Dir. $60,853 $57,046 2024
Hyperbaric Vermont Inc VT$233,648 President $30,372 $28,737 2024
Keep Etowah Beautiful Inc AL$227,535 Executive Di $44,500 $44,027 2025
Toxics Action Center Inc MA$227,403 President $7,321 $6,367 2023
The Recyclery Collective IL$227,204 Director / Programming Coordinator $20,403 $18,856 2024
Friends Of Dupont Forest NC$227,175 Executive Director $54,723 $54,722 2023
Bowling Green Recycling Center Inc OH$234,872 Chairman $11,045 $10,997 2024
Frogtown Garden MN$227,091 Facilities And Programs Manager $44,550 $41,381 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to ID 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 ID 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 default25th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)24th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted27th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted23rd

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 (Dr Nancy Gilliam) 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 542 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (C), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $30,640 is reasonable (approximately the 25th 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.