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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Phoenix Conservancy

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 813858018
WA · NTEE C30
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Cullen Anderson, Executive Director / CEO ($42,068) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 123 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 26th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Cullen Anderson — reported title “Madagascar Project Manager”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

123 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 123 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,774 total compensation of comparable organizations → $137,717 $42,068
$18,62910th
$40,08725th
$66,198Median
$87,65775th
$100,33590th
$42,068This org · 26th
p10$18,629
p25$40,087
p50$66,198
p75$87,657
p90$100,335
$42,068

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 WA 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
Madison-morgan Conservancy Inc GA$269,398 Executive Dir $110,315 $123,890 2023
Friends Of Black Rock High Rock Inc NV$269,445 Former Director $10,500 $11,419 2024
Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light PA$271,190 Executive Director $77,767 $84,135 2024
Lake Erie Islands Nature And Wildlife OH$271,495 Director $38,767 $45,862 2023
The Greenwich Tree Conservancy Inc CT$264,196 Executive Director $54,590 $57,169 2023
Greater Oregon City Watershed Council OR$263,413 Executive Dir. $78,680 $79,270 2024
St Louis Audubon Society MO$275,320 Executive Director $68,726 $76,936 2025
Salmon Defense WA$275,565 Executive Director $68,690 $68,690 2023
Nebraska Association Of Resources NE$275,886 Executive Director $43,069 $48,960 2025
Outdoor New Mexico NM$276,415 Executive Director $70,640 $82,427 2024
Center For Sustainable Economy WA$277,153 President $98,400 $95,577 2024
People & Plants International Inc VT$261,027 Co-director $93,000 $101,553 2024
Friends Of Huddart & Wunderlich Parks CA$260,144 Program Director $75,000 $68,449 2025
Regenerative Earth CO$278,331 Exec Director, Board Chair $67,562 $72,359 2023
Project Regeneration CA$279,043 Executive Director $131,250 $122,955 2024
Bear Lake Watch UT$259,252 Past Exec. Dir. $37,912 $43,339 2023
Coast Ridge Community Forest CA$258,775 Executive Dir. $16,465 $15,880 2023
Water Climate Trust CA$256,351 Executive Director $81,000 $78,123 2023
Harris Ranch Wildlife Mitigation Association Inc ID$256,059 Conservation Director $53,856 $62,155 2024
Lake Erie Islands Conservancy OH$255,106 Chair $16,000 $18,385 2024
Blue Scholars Initiative FL$284,046 Program Director $30,468 $31,052 2024
People And Pollinators Action CO$253,840 Executive Di $63,585 $66,146 2024
Four Winds Nature Institute Inc VT$285,418 Executive Dir. $63,811 $69,679 2024
Nevada Preservation Foundation NV$250,283 President $12,375 $13,457 2024
Wisconsin Association Of Lakes Inc WI$249,630 Executive Director $71,436 $83,329 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WA 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 WA 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 default26th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)28th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted27th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted25th

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 (Cullen Anderson) 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 123 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $42,068 is reasonable (approximately the 26th 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.