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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Wander Project

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 831778644
UT · NTEE C12
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Zander Chase, Executive Director / CEO ($64,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 758 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 47th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Zander Chase — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

758 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 758 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$298 total compensation of comparable organizations → $846,750 $64,000
$19,44210th
$43,31525th
$66,613Median
$87,56875th
$110,43490th
$64,000This org · 47th
p10$19,442
p25$43,315
p50$66,613
p75$87,568
p90$110,434
$64,000

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 UT 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
Rivanna Conservation Alliance VA$364,992 Executive Director $32,296 $31,368 2023
Conservation Alabama AL$365,903 Executive Director $70,990 $74,934 2024
Reuse It Center Inc KS$365,928 Director $31,468 $34,197 2023
Botanic Gardens Conservation MA$364,663 Director Of Conservation $121,606 $106,771 2024
Alliance For The Wild Rockies Inc MT$364,633 Executive Director/treasur $105,808 $111,439 2024
Billings Trailnet MT$364,583 Executive Director $75,323 $81,675 2023
Eastern Region Association Of Forest And Nature Schools MD$364,438 Executive Director $76,916 $72,335 2023
Little River Wetlands Project Inc IN$364,403 2023 Exec Di $71,023 $75,342 2023
Friends Of The Delaware Canal Inc PA$364,269 Executive Di $81,900 $79,800 2024
Nashville Parks Foundation TN$366,532 President & Ceo $55,000 $58,155 2023
Living Observatory Inc MA$364,058 Director $42,388 $37,217 2024
Skagit Watershed Council WA$363,757 Executive Director $103,647 $88,330 2025
Pilsen Enviromental Rights And Reform Organization IL$363,375 President $1,950 $1,873 2024
International Rocky Mountain Stage Stop WY$363,097 Race Director $35,333 $38,060 2023
Clean Energy Districts Of Iowa IA$368,249 Board Member $5,305 $5,843 2023
Green Light New Orleans LA$368,293 Executive Dir. $99,000 $106,512 2024
Eel River Recovery Project Inc CA$368,368 Board Chair $78,325 $68,035 2023
Association Of Nature Center UT$361,700 Executive Dir. $72,315 $74,451 2023
Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed Land & Wate FL$361,353 Executive Director $91,491 $83,977 2024
Coachella Valley Irrigated Lands Coalition Inc CA$361,310 Executive Director $13,839 $11,676 2024
The Mid-atlantic Chapter Of The Intl Society Of Ar VA$369,824 Executive Director $71,395 $69,343 2023
Green Beverly 107q Inc MA$369,863 President $48,000 $42,144 2024
Craters Of The Moon Natural History Asso ID$360,693 Executive Director $62,538 $65,001 2024
The Crest OR$360,557 Executive Director $66,333 $60,188 2024
Truckee Dirt Union CA$370,119 Employee $12,325 $10,706 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to UT cost of living and 2024 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 UT 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 default47th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)43rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted50th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted44th

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 (Zander Chase) 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 758 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (C), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $64,000 is reasonable (approximately the 47th 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.