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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Save Cape Lookout Foundation Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 883413253
NC · NTEE C30
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Joni Dennis, Executive Director / CEO ($12,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 18 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 44th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Joni Dennis — reported title “DIRECTOR”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

18 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 18 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$557 total compensation of comparable organizations → $52,243 $12,000
$4,12310th
$7,56625th
$15,384Median
$24,95775th
$39,93390th
$12,000This org · 44th
p10$4,123
p25$7,566
p50$15,384
p75$24,957
p90$39,933
$12,000

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 NC 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
Indian Creek Nature Center Charitable IA$34,071 Executive Director $5,723 $5,891 2024
One For Nature Inc PA$34,147 Director $15,000 $14,477 2023
Energy Services Coalition Corp VA$34,236 Exec Director $42,738 $38,791 2024
Save Honolua Coalition HI$34,393 Vice Preside $4,191 $3,527 2024
Mead Spl Site Custodial Trust WA$34,466 Trustee $27,826 $24,111 2023
The Nuclear Decommissioning MA$35,802 President/director $61,845 $52,243 2024
Benison Resource Co GA$35,843 Chairman, Ceo $4,500 $4,379 2023
Ftf Foundation AK$29,654 Executive Di $10,914 $10,098 2023
Ccl Farm Conservation Inc SC$36,128 Director $9,663 $9,477 2024
San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary CA$28,826 Executive Director, Water $50,970 $42,596 2023
Stonington Land Trust Inc CT$26,187 Exec Directo $24,000 $21,778 2023
Keep Rowlett Beautiful Inc TX$39,949 Exec. Director $17,325 $16,291 2024
Sustainable World Inc NY$25,372 President And Convenor $43,000 $36,526 2024
Western Alliance For Nature CA$24,042 Executive Director $10,050 $8,158 2024
Mlt Holdings Inc HI$22,994 President $8,503 $7,368 2023
Open Water Foundation CO$45,650 Ceo $28,000 $25,239 2024
Sportsmens Club Sauk Rapids Inc MN$48,583 President $599 $557 2024
Recycling Rules Inc MA$48,970 Founder And Executive Director $22,000 $19,133 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NC 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 NC 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 default44th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)44th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted50th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted28th

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 (Joni Dennis) 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 18 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (C), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $12,000 is reasonable (approximately the 44th 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.