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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Coastal Watershed Institute

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 911719691
WA · NTEE C32
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Anne Shaffer, Executive Director / CEO ($560) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 30 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 0th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

30 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 30 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$5,726 total compensation of comparable organizations → $137,560 $560
$12,59110th
$34,04025th
$58,243Median
$71,07375th
$88,56090th
$560This org · 0th
p10$12,591
p25$34,040
p50$58,243
p75$71,073
p90$88,560
$560

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 WA 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
Fish Reef Project CA$140,925 Executive Director $27,000 $26,041 2024
Truckee River Foundation NV$132,667 Executive Director $111,826 $125,199 2024
Seaside Sustainability Inc MA$132,364 Executive Director $65,631 $67,820 2023
The Downstream Project VA$145,658 Executive Director $65,076 $70,181 2024
Wentworth Watershed Association NH$145,870 Executive Director $77,861 $80,301 2024
International Society Of Limnology-sil NC$145,957 Editor In Chief-inland Waters $5,000 $5,770 2024
The Pennsylvania Pink Zone PA$148,218 Executive Director $50,085 $54,349 2025
Altamaha Riverkeeper Inc GA$148,849 Executive Director $77,920 $87,509 2024
Storm Drain Protection Act Inc FL$124,705 Executive Di $79,500 $83,417 2024
Streets Run Watershed Association PA$153,299 Executive Director $88,000 $98,018 2024
Werkin Outdoors NC$153,506 Committee Chair $28,037 $32,357 2024
Nansemond River Preservation Alliance VA$157,999 Presidentceo $79,500 $85,737 2024
Brodheads Watershed Corporation PA$159,342 Executive Director (Until 10/2023) $53,190 $60,995 2023
Westlake Aquatic Center Inc MO$161,905 Staff $7,457 $8,822 2024
Upstream Watch ME$163,974 Executive Director $63,000 $70,461 2024
Watershed Restoration Coalition For The MT$112,825 Secretary/bookkeeper $10,496 $13,010 2023
Pennsylvania Lake Management Society PA$168,728 Executive Director $54,815 $61,055 2024
Tennessee Riverkeeper AL$174,228 Executive Di $114,000 $137,560 2024
Idaho Association Of Soil Conservation ID$176,628 Executive Director $42,000 $51,378 2023
Friends Of The Shiawassee River MI$177,141 Exec Directo $46,752 $55,491 2023
Lake Worth Lagoon Environmental Defense FL$180,852 Executive Direc $15,701 $16,962 2023
Pozo De Agua Inc PR$181,070 President $21,020 $21,020 2024
Sarasota Bay Watch Inc FL$95,871 Executive Director $40,000 $40,889 2025
Hoosic River Watershed Association MA$95,496 Executive Director $38,946 $39,090 2024
Logansport Water System IA$93,456 President $4,548 $5,726 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WA 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 WA 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 default0th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)0th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted0th

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 (Anne Shaffer) 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 30 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C32), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $560 is reasonable (approximately the 0th 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.