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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Montana Conservation Fund

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 921250306
MT · NTEE P20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Rob Arnaud, Executive Director / CEO ($110,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 926 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 96th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

926 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 926 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$292 total compensation of comparable organizations → $198,191 $110,000
$11,08010th
$23,56225th
$42,578Median
$64,12875th
$86,08890th
$110,000This org · 96th
p10$11,080
p25$23,562
p50$42,578
p75$64,128
p90$86,088
$110,000

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 MT 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
Servantee Inc GA$252,198 Executive Di $72,596 $67,716 2024
Antidote OR$252,026 Executive Director $88,000 $75,813 2024
The Oasis Center TX$252,559 Director $24,115 $22,378 2024
Western Slope Native American Resource Center CO$252,717 Executive Director $87,969 $78,253 2024
Bloom Here Inc CA$252,741 Officer, Ceo $82,088 $65,758 2024
Route One Ministry MA$252,784 Executive Director $97,747 $81,486 2024
Westlanco Love Inc PA$251,542 Executive Director $65,040 $60,170 2024
Community Access Speech Therapy Inc RI$253,051 Co-founder $22,250 $19,792 2024
Heart Heroes Inc NE$251,310 Executive Director $66,388 $68,198 2023
Way To The Kingdom MI$251,260 Executive Director $93,990 $89,999 2024
Bridge Of Hope Harrisonburg-rockingham VA$253,232 Executive Director (Through 12/2/24) $31,183 $27,211 2025
The Simple Way PA$253,264 Executive Di $20,818 $19,259 2024
Nurture Cultivate Inc HI$253,343 Chief Executive Officer $7,200 $6,157 2023
Channeled Paths Inc GA$253,485 Office Coordinator $14,213 $13,258 2024
Charlottes Community Outreach MO$253,986 Executive Director $123,482 $121,330 2024
Contagious Disciple Making OR$250,230 Ceo $82,087 $70,719 2024
Bellingham Seafeast WA$250,180 Executive Director $72,600 $60,299 2024
Smith County Help Center Inc TN$250,177 Director $38,355 $37,401 2024
People For People Foundation Of Gloucester County NJ$250,037 Chief Executive Officer Pre $41,167 $34,098 2024
La Promesa Honduras Inc GA$254,414 President $27,736 $26,636 2023
Helping Hands For Freedom AZ$254,431 Executive Director $60,000 $53,531 2024
Community Help Network Inc IN$249,940 Executive Dir. $15,000 $15,108 2023
Passage To Real Life CA$249,913 President & Ceo $33,583 $27,697 2023
Kingdom Of Heaven Ministries LA$254,608 President $30,700 $33,611 2022
Her Academy OH$249,626 Executive Di $207,044 $198,191 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MT 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 MT 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 default96th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)95th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted94th

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 (Rob Arnaud) 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 926 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (P20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $110,000 is reasonable (approximately the 96th 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.