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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Ecological Citizen's Project Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 812903289
NY · NTEE C60
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jocelyn Apicello, Executive Director / CEO ($74,360) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 90 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 64th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Jocelyn Apicello — reported title “CO-DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

90 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 90 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$555 total compensation of comparable organizations → $443,876 $74,360
$22,21210th
$39,63025th
$62,425Median
$81,41675th
$104,81990th
$74,360This org · 64th
p10$22,212
p25$39,630
p50$62,425
p75$81,416
p90$104,819
$74,360

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 NY 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
Sustainable Hudson Valley Inc NY$300,863 Executive Director $70,000 $67,992 2024
Devens Eco-efficiency Center Inc MA$300,051 Executive Director $106,037 $99,784 2025
Community Life Collaborative OH$298,834 Executive Di $80,000 $91,079 2024
Ivy Creek Foundation Inc VA$304,497 Executive Di $42,419 $45,326 2023
Friends Of The Owyhee OR$305,136 Executive Director $88,859 $91,320 2023
Institute For Climate And Peace HI$296,775 President $54,600 $54,097 2023
Olympic Nature Experience WA$307,779 Exec Director $28,628 $27,551 2024
Wa-ya Outdoor Institute WA$294,505 Executive Director $61,934 $59,603 2024
Ravenwood Outdoor Learning Center MT$309,188 Trustee And $53,045 $63,278 2023
Harvest Of All First Nations CO$311,307 Chair $60,489 $62,346 2024
Imago OH$291,359 Executive Director $33,772 $39,585 2023
Discovery Pathways PA$290,379 Executive Director $72,021 $77,202 2024
Prince William Conservation Alliance VA$289,800 Executive Dir. $83,376 $89,089 2023
M3 Ministries TX$287,081 Board Member, Ceo $78,000 $86,346 2023
Crowe's Nest Farm Inc TX$317,182 Vice Pres $42,000 $46,494 2023
Health Professionals For A Healthy MN$317,816 Executive Director $72,359 $76,854 2024
Families In Nature TX$319,367 Executive Dir. $88,838 $95,522 2024
Green Cambridge Inc MA$281,267 Executive Director $74,500 $70,106 2025
Life Frames Inc CA$322,566 Executive Dir. $46,170 $44,120 2023
Coral Springs Nature Center & FL$275,781 Executive Di $54,082 $54,611 2024
Education Economics Environmental Climate And Heal MS$332,687 Board Member $463 $555 2024
Sustainable San Mateo County CA$335,463 Executive Director $61,271 $58,550 2023
Isle Royale Natural History Association MI$267,731 Executive Director $49,907 $57,006 2023
Maunalua Fishpond Heritage Center HI$336,176 Executive Di $72,500 $69,772 2024
The Greenhouse Project NV$336,362 Executive Di $36,907 $39,765 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY 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 NY 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 default64th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)71st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted66th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted62nd

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 (Jocelyn Apicello) 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 90 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $74,360 is reasonable (approximately the 64th 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.