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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Nashville Tree Conservation Corps

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 833548812
TN · NTEE C30
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Ginger Hausser, Executive Director / CEO ($82,558) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 142 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 84th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Ginger Hausser — reported title “FORMER EXEC”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

142 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 142 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,555 total compensation of comparable organizations → $120,765 $82,558
$17,21910th
$38,80525th
$58,252Median
$75,66775th
$87,97290th
$82,558This org · 84th
p10$17,219
p25$38,805
p50$58,252
p75$75,667
p90$87,972
$82,558

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 TN 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
Coastal Connections Inc FL$291,704 Executive Director $42,000 $38,645 2023
Four Winds Nature Institute Inc VT$285,418 Executive Dir. $63,811 $61,103 2024
Blue Scholars Initiative FL$284,046 Program Director $30,468 $27,230 2024
Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance MN$297,817 Executive Director $111,764 $105,063 2024
Sunflower Star Laboratory CA$299,106 Project Mgr. $26,085 $21,429 2024
Sugi Foundation CA$299,320 Excfo $68,000 $55,861 2024
Grow Wild Inc MT$300,418 Executive Director $104,805 $107,477 2024
Tahoe Institute For Natural Science NV$301,900 Executive Dir. $79,428 $77,980 2023
Bold Visions Conservation MT$302,674 Executive Director $67,749 $69,477 2024
Project Regeneration CA$279,043 Executive Director $131,250 $107,821 2024
Regenerative Earth CO$278,331 Exec Director, Board Chair $67,562 $63,453 2023
Vashon-maury Island Nature Center WA$304,220 Science Dire $66,560 $56,692 2024
South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition CA$304,230 Exec. Director $104,058 $83,280 2025
Center For Sustainable Economy WA$277,153 President $98,400 $83,812 2024
Outdoor New Mexico NM$276,415 Executive Director $70,640 $72,281 2024
Nebraska Association Of Resources NE$275,886 Executive Director $43,069 $42,934 2025
Salmon Defense WA$275,565 Executive Director $68,690 $60,235 2023
St Louis Audubon Society MO$275,320 Executive Director $68,726 $67,465 2025
Bucks County Audubon Society PA$309,340 Executive Dir. $67,336 $63,883 2024
Mountain Valleys Resource Conservation & Development Council NC$310,347 Executive Director $44,122 $43,372 2024
Lake Erie Islands Nature And Wildlife OH$271,495 Director $38,767 $40,216 2023
Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light PA$271,190 Executive Director $77,767 $73,779 2024
Sustainability Matters Inc VA$311,002 Executive Di $59,155 $55,943 2023
Friends Of Black Rock High Rock Inc NV$269,445 Former Director $10,500 $10,013 2024
Madison-morgan Conservancy Inc GA$269,398 Executive Dir $110,315 $108,640 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TN 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 TN 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 default84th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)81st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted86th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted82nd

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 (Ginger Hausser) 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 142 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $82,558 is reasonable (approximately the 84th 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.