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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

National Historic Trails Center

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 830299201
WY · NTEE C30Z
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Gena Jensen, Executive Director / CEO ($40,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 65 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 65th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

How comparable organizations were selected

65 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 65 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$150 total compensation of comparable organizations → $171,384 $40,000
$3,76610th
$11,21525th
$30,202Median
$54,79475th
$79,41390th
$40,000This org · 65th
p10$3,766
p25$11,215
p50$30,202
p75$54,794
p90$79,413
$40,000

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 WY cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateTotal revenueTotal compSource
Community Counts Colorado IncCO $67,973$21,296 990
Pines And Prairies Land TrustTX $67,739$73,295 990
Lake Erie Waterkeeper IncOH $67,619$5,935 990
Center For Ecological Living & LearningMD $69,268$82,900 990
Foothill ConservancyCA $66,411$21,713 990
Go AllianceOR $70,080$66,500 990
Solar AustinTX $66,281$25,066 990
Meeker Memorial Hospital FoundationMN $70,214$11,215 990
Oakfield Conservation ClubWI $65,968$502 990
Little Miami Watershed NetworkOH $70,815$25,458 990
2c Mississippi Towards SustainableMS $73,380$65,417 990
Around The World In Eighty FabricsCA $73,510$4,811 990
Our Zero Waste Future IncorporatedMD $74,295$9,988 990
Carmel River Watershed ConservancyCA $74,463$39,850 990
First People's Conservation CouncilLA $61,737$3,085 990
Dahlia Hill Society Of MidlandMI $76,529$41,584 990
Ecocity BuildersCA $76,917$63,270 990
Islands First IncNY $58,985$43,715 990
Damascus Citizens For Sustainability IncPA $77,599$20,954 990
350org Action FundMA $58,516$29,349 990
Friends Of Merrymeeting BayME $58,443$150 990
LooptfoundationOR $78,031$29,464 990
Worldopt Institute IncHI $58,166$11,054 990
Bristol Virginia Public Schools Education FoundationVA $57,923$26,507 990
Curry Community Cares IncOR $78,732$20,179 990

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 WY 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 default65th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)63rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted68th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted57th

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 (Gena Jensen) 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 65 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (C), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $40,000 is reasonable (approximately the 65th 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). 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.