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Updated through 2024NTEE C · Environment

Environment nonprofitexecutive pay

Median top-executive pay across 4,948 environment nonprofits, 2020 – 2024. Each organization is counted once at its most recent filing, using the highest-paid leader reported on IRS Form 990, Schedule J.

Organizations that preserve and protect the natural environment through conservation, pollution control, beautification, and environmental education.

Median executive pay
$88,398
The typical environment nonprofit's highest-paid executive earns $88,398 in total reported compensation.
25th pct
$46k
75th pct
$143k
90th pct
$226k
4,948 organizations · 2020 – 2024
Percentile distribution

Where the middle 50% lands.

Half earn between $46k and $143k. That band is the interquartile range. The 90th percentile sits at $226k, roughly 2.6 times the median. That upper tail is where the largest organizations cluster.

PercentileTotal compMeans
90th$225,726Top 10% of earners
75th$143,08825% earn more than this
50th · median$88,398The typical executive
25th$46,28125% earn less than this
10th$16,50010% of executives earn less than this
By organization size

Bigger budgets, bigger paychecks.

Median executive pay rises with organization revenue. Each band shows the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile of top-executive pay for environment nonprofits in that revenue range.

Revenue band25thMedian75thOrgs
Under $1M$28k$57,983$86k2,750
$1M – $10M$98k$131,977$184k1,862
$10M – $100M$179k$265,392$387k312
$100M – $500M$353k$548,640$859k22
Revenue bands with fewer than 5 organizations are not shown.
By role

Benchmark a specific Environment role

Drill into median pay for individual leadership roles within environment nonprofits.

Board & trustee pay

Environment board & trustee pay norms

8% of environment nonprofits pay at least one board member or trustee, with a typical per-person payment of $38,679 across a median board of 4 paid members.

Organizations paying board members
8%
Median board pay
$38,679
Median paid board size
4
By filing type
Form 990: 9%
Form 990-EZ: 5%
Form 990-PF: 8%
Directory

Conservation groups, environmental advocacy organizations, botanical gardens, and wildlife preservation nonprofits. Includes pollution control, land conservation, and environmental education. There are 10,983 environment organizations in our database with compensation data from IRS Form 990 filings. Use the table below to browse them, or sort by revenue, location, or number of reported executives.

Organizations in Environment

10,983 organizations · Page 1 of 220

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
CATALYST4 INCPalo AltoCA$700.8M0
NEW VENTURE FUNDWashingtonDC$662.4M7
CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGYSan DiegoCA$502.9M8
Ducks Unlimited IncMemphisTN$443.6M14
WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INCWashingtonDC$374.8M13
THE CONSERVATION FUND A NONPROFIT CORPORATIONArlingtonVA$373.2M14
WINDWARD FUNDWashingtonDC$308.2M6
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATEDNew YorkNY$298.7M13
CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATIONArlingtonVA$271.2M13
ISO NEW ENGLAND INCHolyokeMA$264.6M37
ENERGY TRUST OF OREGON INCPortlandOR$251.2M7
THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LANDSan FranciscoCA$237.3M29
Climate Imperative FoundationSan FranciscoCA$206.7M0
NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INCNew YorkNY$204.3M20
KLAMATH RIVER RENEWAL CORPORATIONBerkeleyCA$195.5M4
SIXTEEN THIRTY FUNDWashingtonDC$181.4M6
NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY INCNew YorkNY$149.9M11
MARSHALL AREA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTMarshallMI$143.7M1
EARTHJUSTICESan FranciscoCA$139.6M12
Great Hearts America-TexasSan AntonioTX$137.4M13
VERMONT ENERGY INVESTMENT CORPORATIONWinooskiVT$130.9M22
NATIONAL ARBOR DAY FOUNDATIONLincolnNE$111.9M17
THE NEW YORK CLIMATE EXCHANGE INCNew YorkNY$110.7M1
NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDENBronxNY$109.1M12
SIERRA CLUB FOUNDATIONOaklandCA$108.2M7
CITY OF OAKS FOUNDATION INCRaleighNC$105.2M1
SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENTREPRENEURS (SEE) INCCalabasasCA$94.6M9
THE URBAN LAND INSTITUTEWashingtonDC$93.1M18
RIVIAN FOUNDATIONIrvineCA$87.6M0
PaintCare Inc c/o American Coatings AssociationWashingtonDC$84.7M10
RESOURCES LEGACY FUNDSacramentoCA$79.6M13
THE ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN INCAtlantaGA$76M10
MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BOARD OF TRUSTEESSt LouisMO$75.3M13
LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS EDUCATION FUNDWashingtonDC$75.2M6
MASSACHUSETTS AUDUBON SOCIETY INCLincolnMA$73.7M12
C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group IncNew YorkNY$73.6M8
OPEN SPACE INSTITUTE LAND TRUST INCNew YorkNY$73.1M19
GLOBAL FISHING WATCH INCWashingtonDC$69.5M9
ALLIANCE TO END PLASTIC WASTE INCAustinTX$68.3M12
CHICAGO HORTICULTURAL SOCIETYGlencoeIL$68.1M14
PALLADIUM FOUNDATIONSalt Lake CityUT$66.9M0
ALLIED CLIMATE PARTNERS INCNew YorkNY$66.5M3
The Wildlands ConservancyOak GlenCA$66M4
MULTIPLIERSan FranciscoCA$65.8M7
THE TRUSTEES OF RESERVATIONSBostonMA$64.9M13
HOLDFAST TRUSTJacksonWY$63.3M1
Ducks Unlimited Inc Group ReturnMemphisTN$63.2M13
NATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION INCEdgefieldSC$63.1M10
Elevate EnergyChicagoIL$60.9M6
THE MORTON ARBORETUMLisleIL$57.8M18