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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Bees In The D

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 812548442
MI · NTEE C60
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Brian M Roest-peterson, Executive Director / CEO ($69,735) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 95 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 66th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Brian M Roest-peterson — reported title “VICE-PRESIDENT/TREASURER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

95 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 95 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$486 total compensation of comparable organizations → $815,531 $69,735
$18,42910th
$40,64725th
$61,083Median
$77,34775th
$98,89390th
$69,735This org · 66th
p10$18,429
p25$40,647
p50$61,083
p75$77,347
p90$98,893
$69,735

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 MI 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
Earthroots Field School Inc CA$391,713 Executive Director $27,335 $22,212 2024
Wesselman Nature Society Inc IN$396,745 Executive Director $63,785 $63,299 2024
Blessed Earth Inc KY$382,900 President $191,959 $194,075 2024
Strawberry Hill Foundation Inc PA$380,658 Executive Di $71,500 $67,098 2024
The Outdoor Circle HI$402,928 Executive Director $122,049 $102,828 2024
Get Inspired CA$403,267 President $110,000 $89,385 2024
Pando Populus Inc CA$377,928 President $112,500 $91,416 2024
Rep Environmental Education Foundation VA$377,331 President $129,446 $117,616 2024
Climate Access Fund Corporation MD$404,259 Ceo $156,583 $137,759 2024
Torrey House Press UT$405,952 Executive Director $69,650 $69,063 2023
Georgia Arborist Association Inc GA$374,382 Executive Di $74,282 $70,286 2024
Vermont Wilderness School VT$372,886 Executive Director $70,673 $66,940 2024
30 Mile River Watershed Association ME$408,868 Executive Director $100,722 $94,910 2024
Habitatmap Incorporated NY$370,978 Executive Di $23,000 $19,558 2024
Green Beverly 107q Inc MA$369,863 President $48,000 $40,590 2024
Eastern Region Association Of Forest And Nature Schools MD$364,438 Executive Director $76,916 $69,668 2023
Pilsen Enviromental Rights And Reform Organization IL$363,375 President $1,950 $1,804 2024
Craters Of The Moon Natural History Asso ID$360,693 Executive Director $62,538 $62,605 2024
Ecologik Institute CA$421,600 President $18,270 $14,846 2024
High Desert Horticultural Center OR$358,304 Nursery Manager $31,603 $27,618 2024
Cloud City Conservation Center CO$424,000 Executive Di $77,650 $72,136 2023
Greater Arkansas River Nature Assoc CO$427,717 Executive Di $85,000 $76,699 2024
Wsbz Farms AR$429,747 Executive Dir. $53,550 $58,317 2023
The Kiva Center CO$351,466 Treasurer $59,750 $53,915 2024
Always Choose Adventures CO$350,083 Executive Di $8,100 $7,309 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MI 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 MI 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 default66th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)55th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted67th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted65th

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 (Brian M Roest-peterson) 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 95 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $69,735 is reasonable (approximately the 66th 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.