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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Clean Air Institute

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 800429122
DC · NTEE C35
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Interim Director, Executive Director / CEO ($78,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 37 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 49th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Interim Director — reported title “DIRECTOR”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

37 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 37 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,327 total compensation of comparable organizations → $213,780 $78,500
$22,63310th
$33,83825th
$85,967Median
$118,03375th
$150,26590th
$78,500This org · 49th
p10$22,633
p25$33,838
p50$85,967
p75$118,033
p90$150,265
$78,500

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 DC 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
Carbon Offsets To Alleviate Poverty CA$323,251 Ceo $59,583 $58,631 2023
Net-negative Co2 Baseload Power Inc WA$320,000 Ceo And President (Resigned 1/1/25 After Tax Year) $94,250 $93,401 2024
Wyoming Petroleum Foundation WY$327,364 Ex-officio Member $76,831 $91,065 2024
Blueenergy OR$316,956 Executive Director, Director, Secretary $45,000 $47,622 2023
Louisiana Clean Energy Fund LA$312,655 President/director $78,164 $98,081 2023
Energy Action Network Inc VT$334,745 Executive Director $141,329 $157,453 2024
Tulsa Bike Share Inc OK$338,763 Executive Dir. $73,620 $92,379 2023
Leaders For Clean Air UT$306,178 Executive Dir. $28,000 $31,720 2024
E-tech International NM$299,417 President/ex $27,950 $33,274 2024
Frack Action Fund Inc NY$354,000 Executive Director $120,000 $120,023 2024
Energy Programs Consortium DC$283,320 Executive Director $51,000 $51,000 2023
One Earth Collective IL$281,886 Executive Dir. $79,000 $85,967 2024
Clean Energy Districts Of Iowa IA$368,249 Board Member $5,305 $6,619 2023
Green Light New Orleans LA$368,293 Executive Dir. $99,000 $120,663 2024
Blue Planet Foundation HI$377,633 Executive Director $30,885 $30,607 2024
Tennessee Advanced Energy Business TN$378,450 Executive Di $2,000 $2,327 2024
Climate Collaborative WA$378,511 Executive Director $142,585 $145,473 2023
Greater Sacramento Regional CA$266,443 Executive Dir. $36,117 $34,520 2024
New Power Tour Inc MI$265,115 Managing Director $15,000 $17,138 2024
Mason County Climate Justice WA$391,936 President $13,546 $13,424 2024
Texas Foundation For Innovative TX$251,442 Key Employee $180,000 $199,299 2024
Innovators Educational Foundation MO$249,404 President $97,793 $118,033 2023
Southern Star Medical Research Institute TX$396,384 Trustee/chairman & Pres $190,400 $210,813 2024
Smart Buildings Center Education Program WA$400,015 Executive Director $26,536 $26,297 2024
Lite Initiatives CA$241,633 General Manager $29,262 $27,968 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to DC 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. To compare fairly across regions and years, peer compensation is normalized to DC 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 default49th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)57th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted54th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted41st

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 (Interim Director) 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 37 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C35), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $78,500 is reasonable (approximately the 49th 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.