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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Sustainability Matters Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 842664760
VA · NTEE C30
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sari Carp, Executive Director / CEO ($59,155) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 148 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 37th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

148 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 148 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,645 total compensation of comparable organizations → $133,699 $59,155
$20,53310th
$45,18725th
$63,946Median
$82,63175th
$96,01990th
$59,155This org · 37th
p10$20,533
p25$45,187
p50$63,946
p75$82,631
p90$96,019
$59,155

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 VA 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
Mountain Valleys Resource Conservation & Development Council NC$310,347 Executive Director $44,122 $45,862 2024
Bucks County Audubon Society PA$309,340 Executive Dir. $67,336 $67,551 2024
South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition CA$304,230 Exec. Director $104,058 $88,061 2025
Vashon-maury Island Nature Center WA$304,220 Science Dire $66,560 $59,947 2024
Bold Visions Conservation MT$302,674 Executive Director $67,749 $73,465 2024
Pangeaseed Foundation HI$319,879 Executive Director $77,227 $71,609 2023
Tahoe Institute For Natural Science NV$301,900 Executive Dir. $79,428 $82,458 2023
The Susquehanna Greenway Partnershp PA$320,810 Executive Di $76,336 $78,841 2023
Grow Wild Inc MT$300,418 Executive Director $104,805 $113,648 2024
Santa Barbara Audubon Society CA$322,002 Executive Dir. $67,866 $57,433 2025
Middlesex Land Trust CT$322,665 Executive Di $66,111 $64,198 2023
Sugi Foundation CA$299,320 Excfo $68,000 $59,069 2024
Sunflower Star Laboratory CA$299,106 Project Mgr. $26,085 $22,659 2024
Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance MN$297,817 Executive Director $111,764 $111,095 2024
Oahu Agriculture And Conservation Assoc HI$325,224 Executive Dir. $95,881 $86,355 2024
Wildlife Ecology Institute MT$327,259 Executive Dir. $100,039 $108,480 2024
Coastal Connections Inc FL$291,704 Executive Director $42,000 $40,864 2023
Nashville Tree Conservation Corps TN$290,930 Former Exec $82,558 $87,298 2024
Alaska Whale Foundation AK$331,469 Executive Director $92,083 $88,562 2024
Collective Oyster Recycling & CT$332,167 Director $35,962 $33,919 2024
Edenacres Environmental Education OR$333,368 Executive Director $52,768 $49,296 2024
Rendezvous Lands Conservancy WY$334,011 Coo/cfo $20,104 $21,098 2025
Coalition For Susitna Dam Alternatives AK$334,038 Executive Director 1/1/24-7/31/24 $96,688 $92,991 2024
Mahwah Environmental Volunteers NJ$335,230 Executive Dir. $61,660 $55,381 2024
Four Winds Nature Institute Inc VT$285,418 Executive Dir. $63,811 $64,611 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VA 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 VA 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 default37th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)36th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted41st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted35th

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 (Sari Carp) 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 148 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $59,155 is reasonable (approximately the 37th 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.