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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Lifewater Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 953987142
AR · NTEE C32Z
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 10, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of David Levan, Executive Director / CEO ($65,583) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 99 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: David Levan — reported title “PRESIDENT/CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

99 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 99 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$5,378 total compensation of comparable organizations → $144,522 $65,583
$22,79010th
$50,56125th
$67,711Median
$81,30375th
$99,34790th
$65,583This org · 44th
p10$22,790
p25$50,561
p50$67,711
p75$81,303
p90$99,347
$65,583

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 AR 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
Lake Waramaug Task Force Inc CT$476,333 Executive Director $91,115 $78,247 2023
Atchafalaya Basinkeeper Inc LA$477,796 Executive Director $71,560 $70,101 2024
Calapooia Watershed Council OR$470,356 Executive Dir. $82,683 $68,310 2024
Elakha Alliance OR$479,406 Executive Dir. $100,833 $85,766 2023
Santa Clara River Conservancy CA$481,302 Executive Director $128,469 $98,691 2024
Arkansas River Watershed Collaborative CO$467,784 Executive Director $84,464 $72,053 2024
Bighorn River Alliance MT$487,540 Executive Director $82,957 $79,554 2024
Savannah Riverkeeper Inc GA$461,387 Executive Di $53,880 $48,197 2024
Luckiamute Watershed Council OR$458,859 Exec Directo $28,333 $23,408 2024
Gloucester Fishing Community Preservation Fund Inc MA$490,600 Executive Director/director $105,000 $83,942 2024
Lloyd Center For The Environment Inc MA$494,849 Executive Director $90,056 $74,121 2023
Middle Colorado Watershed Council CO$454,149 Executive Director $93,526 $82,140 2023
Colorado Watershed Assembly CO$453,242 Executive Director $72,000 $63,235 2023
Coastal Watershed Council CA$497,221 Executive Dir. $110,000 $86,999 2023
Friends Of The River Foundation KS$497,665 Executive Di $48,000 $47,496 2023
Southeastern Wisconsin Watersheds Trust Inc WI$498,776 Executive Director $103,329 $96,004 2024
Leading From Within CA$500,842 Executive Director $119,583 $94,578 2023
National Watershed Coalition OK$446,831 Executive Director $132,000 $125,977 2025
Great River Passage Conservancy MN$444,881 Executive Director $154,688 $135,981 2024
Deschutes River Alliance OR$505,975 Executive Director $116,200 $96,001 2024
Lake Stewards Of Maine - Maine ME$506,329 Executive Director $88,730 $79,044 2024
Chesapeake Stormwater Network Inc MD$511,702 Executive Director $122,526 $99,282 2025
Powder Basin Watershed Council OR$512,511 Executive Dir. $65,505 $55,717 2023
The California Water Impact Network CA$512,727 Secretary $58,881 $45,233 2024
Khm International HI$435,307 Exec Director $74,675 $59,479 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AR 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 AR 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)34th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted16th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted100th

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 (David Levan) 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 10, 2026, comparing compensation against 99 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (C32), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $65,583 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 10, 2026.