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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Harney County Watershed Council Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 931251362
OR · NTEE C32
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Karen Moon, Executive Director / CEO ($52,250) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 58 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 36th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

58 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 58 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,141 total compensation of comparable organizations → $135,768 $52,250
$10,43510th
$45,72225th
$62,183Median
$79,72075th
$106,33790th
$52,250This org · 36th
p10$10,435
p25$45,722
p50$62,183
p75$79,720
p90$106,337
$52,250

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 OR 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
Project41 CA$273,056 Ceo $101,400 $91,581 2024
Malama Na Apapa HI$265,256 Director $10,000 $11,351 2020
Missouri Stream Team Watershed Coalition MO$265,034 Executive Director $44,883 $49,721 2024
Jones River Watershed Associnc MA$264,493 Exec. Dir. $60,000 $56,394 2024
Beyond Our Shores Inc RI$263,786 President $73,150 $75,531 2023
Resource Protection Group Inc VA$258,063 Secretary/tr $7,500 $7,574 2024
Carrolls Water Association WA$256,946 Treasurer $8,269 $7,744 2024
Lake Of The Ozarks Watershed Allian MO$290,092 Executive Di $92,973 $102,996 2024
Pudding River Watershed Council OR$250,832 Co-executive Director $62,500 $62,500 2023
Smithfield Irrigation Company UT$250,811 Trustee $2,000 $2,141 2024
Acton Wakefield Watersheds Alliance NH$248,360 Executive Di $74,862 $72,300 2024
St Mary's River Watershed Association Inc MD$247,582 Exec. Director $47,400 $46,350 2024
Rozalia Project VT$294,533 Executive Di $75,728 $79,723 2024
Agricultural Drainage Management Coalition Inc IA$299,322 Executive Director $118,551 $135,768 2024
White River Partnership Inc VT$299,632 Executive Director $65,126 $70,587 2023
Madison River Foundation MT$240,092 Former Executive Director $109,125 $126,667 2023
Friends Of The White River Inc IN$301,798 Executive Director $75,522 $85,761 2023
Lifetides Institute SC$239,327 Vice Chair $26,500 $28,916 2024
Professional Training Association WA$302,967 Executive Director $111,400 $104,318 2024
Gull Chain Of Lakes Association MN$238,044 Secretary/tr $12,619 $13,042 2024
Hui O Koolaupoko HI$236,830 Project Director $36,775 $34,437 2024
One People One Reef CA$235,610 V Chair&co-dir. $28,000 $26,036 2023
Heart Of The Lakes Ctr For Land Cons MI$305,789 Executive Dir. $102,862 $111,048 2024
Friends Of Sausal Creek CA$306,596 Exec Directo $65,000 $60,440 2023
The Great Egg Harbor Watershed Association NJ$233,111 Coordinator $51,611 $49,620 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to OR 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 OR 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 default36th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)36th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted36th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted36th

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 (Karen Moon) 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 58 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C32), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $52,250 is reasonable (approximately the 36th 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.