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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Water Climate Trust

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 832451287
CA · NTEE C30
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of J Konrad Fisher, Executive Director / CEO ($81,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 120 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 66th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

How comparable organizations were selected

120 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 120 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,839 total compensation of comparable organizations → $178,864 $81,000
$18,94710th
$41,62425th
$68,422Median
$90,39475th
$104,16890th
$81,000This org · 66th
p10$18,947
p25$41,624
p50$68,422
p75$90,394
p90$104,168
$81,000

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

OrganizationStateTotal revenueTotal compSource
Harris Ranch Wildlife Mitigation Association IncID $256,059$64,444 990
Lake Erie Islands ConservancyOH $255,106$19,062 990
Coast Ridge Community ForestCA $258,775$16,465 990
People And Pollinators ActionCO $253,840$68,583 990
Bear Lake WatchUT $259,252$44,936 990
Friends Of Huddart & Wunderlich ParksCA $260,144$70,970 990
People & Plants International IncVT $261,027$105,294 990
Nevada Preservation FoundationNV $250,283$57,974 990
Wisconsin Association Of Lakes IncWI $249,630$86,398 990
Greater Oregon City Watershed CouncilOR $263,413$82,189 990
Willowbrook Economic DevelopmentIL $249,001$99,677 990
The Greenwich Tree Conservancy IncCT $264,196$59,275 990
Conservation Council For HawaiiHI $247,699$75,531 990
Southwest Idaho Resource ConservationID $247,600$1,839 990
Iowa Interfaith Power And LightIA $247,131$94,040 990
Transformers Foundation IncNY $246,889$20,329 990
Friends Of The Mariana TrenchMP $245,976$44,550 990
Indigenous Peoples Council ForAK $244,580$62,191 990
Methow Valley Trails CollaborativeWA $244,446$51,438 990
Colorado Native Plant SocietyCO $243,936$67,695 990
Phoenix ConservancyWA $269,220$43,287 990
Madison-morgan Conservancy IncGA $269,398$128,454 990
Friends Of Black Rock High Rock IncNV $269,445$11,839 990
Action Center IncPA $242,260$68,060 990
Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & LightPA $271,190$87,234 990

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 CA 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 default66th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)79th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted69th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted64th

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 (J Konrad Fisher) 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 120 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $81,000 is reasonable (approximately the 66th 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.