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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Colorado Watershed Assembly

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 841600089
CO · NTEE C32
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Kathleen Davenhill, Executive Director / CEO ($72,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 98 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 43rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Kathleen Davenhill — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

98 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 98 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$6,123 total compensation of comparable organizations → $164,557 $72,000
$38,62710th
$57,07425th
$76,439Median
$93,05075th
$112,57390th
$72,000This org · 43rd
p10$38,627
p25$57,074
p50$76,439
p75$93,050
p90$112,573
$72,000

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 CO 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
Middle Colorado Watershed Council CO$454,149 Executive Director $93,526 $93,526 2023
Luckiamute Watershed Council OR$458,859 Exec Directo $28,333 $26,653 2024
National Watershed Coalition OK$446,831 Executive Director $132,000 $143,439 2025
Savannah Riverkeeper Inc GA$461,387 Executive Di $53,880 $54,878 2024
Great River Passage Conservancy MN$444,881 Executive Director $154,688 $154,831 2024
Arkansas River Watershed Collaborative CO$467,784 Executive Director $84,464 $82,041 2024
Calapooia Watershed Council OR$470,356 Executive Dir. $82,683 $77,780 2024
Khm International HI$435,307 Exec Director $74,675 $67,724 2024
Dolores River Boating Advocates CO$434,872 Executive Director $90,444 $87,849 2024
Lifewater Inc AR$474,680 President/ceo $65,583 $74,674 2024
Lake Waramaug Task Force Inc CT$476,333 Executive Director $91,115 $89,094 2023
Atchafalaya Basinkeeper Inc LA$477,796 Executive Director $71,560 $79,819 2024
Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory Inc AZ$428,340 President $23,750 $23,137 2024
Crystal Springs Foundation Inc FL$427,082 Vp/executive Director $86,565 $84,809 2023
Elakha Alliance OR$479,406 Executive Dir. $100,833 $97,655 2023
The Center For Water Security And DC$426,670 Vice-chair And Executive Director $138,333 $126,597 2023
Ohio River Foundation OH$425,997 Executive Director $135,609 $145,492 2024
Santa Clara River Conservancy CA$481,302 Executive Director $128,469 $112,371 2024
Doan Brook Watershed Partnership OH$422,092 Executive Di $51,606 $55,367 2024
River Rangers International Inc OH$420,310 President/ce $75,000 $80,466 2024
Save The River Inc NY$419,357 Exec. Direc. $47,807 $43,759 2024
Bighorn River Alliance MT$487,540 Executive Director $82,957 $90,582 2024
Gloucester Fishing Community Preservation Fund Inc MA$490,600 Executive Director/director $105,000 $95,578 2024
Multicultural Education For Resource CA$413,304 Exec. Director $94,250 $84,875 2023
Lloyd Center For The Environment Inc MA$494,849 Executive Director $90,056 $84,396 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CO 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 CO 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 default43rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)42nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted50th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted42nd

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 (Kathleen Davenhill) 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 98 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C32), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $72,000 is reasonable (approximately the 43rd 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.