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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Wildlife Ecology Institute

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 810723892
MT · NTEE C30
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Timothy Hiller, Executive Director / CEO ($100,039) 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 91st percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Timothy Hiller — reported title “Executive Dir.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

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

$1,517 total compensation of comparable organizations → $136,623 $100,039
$19,33810th
$42,87725th
$58,970Median
$76,03175th
$86,52590th
$100,039This org · 91st
p10$19,338
p25$42,877
p50$58,970
p75$76,031
p90$86,525
$100,039

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 MT 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
Oahu Agriculture And Conservation Assoc HI$325,224 Executive Dir. $95,881 $79,636 2024
Alaska Whale Foundation AK$331,469 Executive Director $92,083 $81,670 2024
Middlesex Land Trust CT$322,665 Executive Di $66,111 $59,203 2023
Collective Oyster Recycling & CT$332,167 Director $35,962 $31,280 2024
Santa Barbara Audubon Society CA$322,002 Executive Dir. $67,866 $52,964 2025
Edenacres Environmental Education OR$333,368 Executive Director $52,768 $45,460 2024
The Susquehanna Greenway Partnershp PA$320,810 Executive Di $76,336 $72,707 2023
Rendezvous Lands Conservancy WY$334,011 Coo/cfo $20,104 $19,457 2025
Coalition For Susitna Dam Alternatives AK$334,038 Executive Director 1/1/24-7/31/24 $96,688 $85,755 2024
Pangeaseed Foundation HI$319,879 Executive Director $77,227 $66,037 2023
Mahwah Environmental Volunteers NJ$335,230 Executive Dir. $61,660 $51,072 2024
Calhoun County Resource Watch TX$336,943 President $8,700 $8,073 2024
Healthy Flint Research Coordinating Cent MI$343,199 Co-director $75,005 $71,820 2024
Sustainability Matters Inc VA$311,002 Executive Di $59,155 $54,552 2023
The Go Green Initiative Association CA$343,699 Founder And Ceo $85,000 $68,091 2024
Mountain Valleys Resource Conservation & Development Council NC$310,347 Executive Director $44,122 $42,293 2024
Bucks County Audubon Society PA$309,340 Executive Dir. $67,336 $62,294 2024
Species Survival Network MD$346,428 Executive Director $65,232 $56,576 2024
Friends Of Arches&canyonlands Parks UT$346,985 Executive Di $69,823 $66,295 2024
South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition CA$304,230 Exec. Director $104,058 $81,209 2025
Vashon-maury Island Nature Center WA$304,220 Science Dire $66,560 $55,283 2024
Bold Visions Conservation MT$302,674 Executive Director $67,749 $67,749 2024
Southwest Iowa Nature Trails IA$352,427 Executive Di $18,920 $19,218 2024
Tahoe Institute For Natural Science NV$301,900 Executive Dir. $79,428 $76,041 2023
City Grazing CA$353,251 Executive Director $11,721 $9,389 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MT 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 MT 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 default91st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)88th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted93rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted89th

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 (Timothy Hiller) 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 $100,039 is reasonable (approximately the 91st 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.