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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Dixie Fire Canopy Project

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 933626783
CA · NTEE C50
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Michaela Trammell, Executive Director / CEO ($12,750) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 33 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 12th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Michaela Trammell — reported title “Executive Dir.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

33 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 33 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$718 total compensation of comparable organizations → $141,686 $12,750
$15,71910th
$48,44925th
$70,608Median
$85,01275th
$118,39790th
$12,750This org · 12th
p10$15,719
p25$48,449
p50$70,608
p75$85,012
p90$118,397
$12,750

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 CA 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
Bucks Beautiful Inc PA$212,217 Executive Di $40,083 $46,291 2024
Rail-trail Council Of Northeastern PA$212,660 Executive Director $26,088 $30,128 2024
Keep Rockland Beautiful Inc NY$202,946 Executive Director $61,506 $64,364 2024
The Treeline Conservancy MI$217,730 Executive Di $115,131 $141,685 2023
Warrick Parks & Trails Foundation Inc IN$200,387 Executive Director $49,292 $61,976 2023
3d Nature Technologies Inc TX$200,000 Vice President And Secretary $91,000 $108,532 2023
Uptown Lexington Inc NC$195,095 President $600 $718 2024
Clean Valley Council Inc VA$194,336 Executive Director $65,589 $71,449 2025
Keep Etowah Beautiful Inc AL$227,535 Executive Di $44,500 $54,239 2025
Narrow Ridge Center TN$189,012 Director $31,981 $38,930 2024
Memory Trees Corporation FL$187,856 Executive Director $11,000 $12,321 2023
Keep The Midlands Beautiful SC$233,516 Executive Di $55,867 $67,496 2024
Chandler Park Conservancy MI$235,449 Ceo $118,533 $141,686 2024
Keep Polk County Beautiful Inc FL$184,054 Executive Director $66,619 $70,608 2025
Keep Jackson Beautiful MS$238,983 Executive Dir $3,200 $4,250 2023
Scenic Pittsburgh PA$240,966 Executive Director $71,500 $85,012 2023
Wyoming Pathways WY$241,814 Executive Director $90,000 $114,904 2023
Keep Evansville Beautiful Inc IN$242,493 Past Executive Director $62,047 $75,775 2024
Delaware Greenways Inc DE$174,120 Executive Director $67,742 $76,815 2024
Keep Virginia Beautiful VA$245,919 Executive Director $80,000 $89,454 2024
Keep Colorado Springs Beautiful Inc CO$173,551 Executive Director $62,875 $68,020 2025
Keep Alabama Beautiful AL$256,170 Executive Director $41,000 $51,296 2024
Uc Green Inc PA$160,945 Executive Di $70,309 $79,105 2025
Friends Of Pumpkinvine Nature Trail Inc IN$154,111 Board Member, Administrative Manager $24,000 $29,310 2024
Citizens Caring For Clearlake CA$268,914 President & Ceo $4,050 $4,050 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA 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 CA 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 default12th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)12th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted12th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted12th

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 (Michaela Trammell) 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 33 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C50), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $12,750 is reasonable (approximately the 12th 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.