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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Hiy Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 814669115
PA · NTEE C34
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Ruzhdi Bakalli, Executive Director / CEO ($132,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 98 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 99th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Ruzhdi Bakalli — reported title “PRESIDENT - CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

98 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 98 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$553 total compensation of comparable organizations → $188,899 $132,000
$7,74010th
$18,09925th
$43,573Median
$63,82575th
$91,05290th
$132,000This org · 99th
p10$7,740
p25$18,099
p50$43,573
p75$63,825
p90$91,052
$132,000

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 PA 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
Institute For Compatible Development Inc MS$90,433 Advisory Member $34,563 $39,622 2024
Pelican Coast Conservancy Inc AL$90,337 Ceo (Non-vot $165,000 $188,899 2023
Mid-michigan Land Conservancy MI$89,883 Executive Di $61,204 $65,024 2024
Marsh Haven Nature Center Inc WI$91,639 Director $21,600 $23,220 2024
Logansport Water System IA$93,456 President $4,548 $5,277 2023
Pilchuck Audubon Society WA$86,669 Director $68,165 $62,817 2024
Network Of Oregon Watershed Councils OR$86,114 Former Executive Director $17,756 $16,973 2024
Pine Hollow Arboretum NY$94,881 Executive Director $63,132 $58,719 2024
Snwa Water Efficiency Improvement NV$86,082 President $114,829 $115,421 2025
Science And Environmental Policy Project VA$94,968 President $120,000 $119,261 2024
Bank Climate Advocates CA$95,372 Executive Dir. $73,483 $67,241 2023
Hoosic River Watershed Association MA$95,496 Executive Director $38,946 $36,023 2024
Sarasota Bay Watch Inc FL$95,871 Executive Director $40,000 $37,681 2025
Kettle Moraine Land Trust Inc WI$97,080 Managing Director $37,500 $40,311 2024
Kingfisher Trails Inc OK$97,082 President & Ceo $30,000 $35,006 2023
Forestplanet Inc DC$97,102 Executive Di $13,000 $12,089 2023
Whetstone Wood Trust Fund MA$97,108 Trustee $52,178 $48,263 2024
Trails Of Mississippi Inc MS$82,843 Executive Director $63,175 $74,562 2023
Conservation Collective NC$82,427 Executive Director $24,125 $25,658 2024
Buckeye Environmental Network OH$98,606 2025 Direcor $75,000 $81,764 2024
Wild Tree Foundation CA$98,682 Executive Dir. $100,000 $91,506 2023
Walking Humbly Outdoor Adventures Inc KY$99,435 Secretary $2,475 $2,818 2023
Little Falls Watershed Alliance Inc MD$80,704 Executive Director $39,343 $38,978 2023
Muskingum Watershed Conservancy OH$100,994 Executive Director $51,704 $56,367 2024
Lake Erie Islands Historical Society OH$101,154 Board Member $12,578 $13,713 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to PA cost of living and 2025 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 PA 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 default99th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)98th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted99th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted93rd

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 (Ruzhdi Bakalli) 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 98 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (C), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $132,000 is reasonable (approximately the 99th 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.