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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Save The Yellowstone Grizzly

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 825285730
MT · NTEE C01
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dan Sullivan, Executive Director / CEO ($12,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 20 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 20th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Dan Sullivan — reported title “BOARD TREASU”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

20 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 20 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,506 total compensation of comparable organizations → $102,064 $12,000
$7,36010th
$15,93525th
$45,120Median
$73,32375th
$81,57790th
$12,000This org · 20th
p10$7,360
p25$15,935
p50$45,120
p75$73,323
p90$81,577
$12,000

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 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
Badlands National Park SD$149,803 Executive Director $76,635 $76,210 2024
Ohio Forestry Association Foundation Inc OH$171,122 Executive Director $2,550 $2,506 2023
Whidbey Environmental Action Network WA$175,262 Executive Director $87,880 $72,991 2023
Spanish Peaks Alliance For Wildfire CO$195,214 Executive Director $18,586 $16,059 2024
Happiness Project CO$195,474 President $47,255 $42,036 2023
National Environmental Policy And Law Center Inc MA$196,319 Clerk, Director, Litigation Director $122,431 $102,064 2023
Big Bend Conservation Alliance TX$197,362 Executive Director $79,725 $71,861 2024
Urban Greenspaces Institute OR$200,278 Executive Di $8,666 $7,466 2023
San Leandro 2050 CA$202,590 Ceo $8,000 $6,409 2023
St Louis River Alliance MN$203,974 Executive Director $71,817 $65,832 2023
Jews In Tech CA$103,220 Director $20,000 $15,562 2024
The Hourglass Foundation PA$205,053 Executive Di $82,708 $74,320 2024
Cayuga Lake Watershed Network Inc NY$206,879 Executive Director $73,320 $61,463 2023
New Mexico Recycling Coalition NM$209,215 Executive Director $96,382 $96,169 2023
Ashland Climate Collaborative OR$211,127 Executive Director $42,758 $35,779 2024
Whaleman International Ltd HI$211,410 President Director Treasurer $59,750 $48,203 2024
More Action For Regeneration Inc FL$219,764 Treasurer / Executive Director $40,000 $33,859 2024
1000 Friends Of Wisconsin WI$220,033 Executive Director $82,527 $79,956 2023
Minnesota Conservation Federation MN$228,598 Executive Di $46,500 $41,402 2024
Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund OH$228,737 Interim President (Term. 09/22) $8,196 $8,053 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MT 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 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 default20th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)20th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted20th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted10th

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 (Dan Sullivan) 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 20 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C01), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $12,000 is reasonable (approximately the 20th 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.