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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 4 of 220

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CONSERVATION DISTRICTSWashingtonDC$25.1M6
HIGHLANDER RESEARCH & EDUCATION CENTER INCNew MarketTN$25M4
MINNESOTA LANDSCAPE ARBORETUM FOUNDATIONChaskaMN$24.8M0
NATIONAL RECREATION AND PARK ASSOCIATIONAshburnVA$24.7M10
NATIONAL NETWORK OF ABORTION FUNDS INCBeavertonOR$24.7M13
COMPATIBLE LANDS FOUNDATIONClaremoreOK$24.6M1
COALITION FOR GREEN CAPITAL D/B/A AMERICAN GREEN BANK CONSORTIUMWashingtonDC$24.3M12
THE WATER RESEARCH FOUNDATIONDenverCO$24.1M9
ACTIVATE GLOBAL INCBerkeleyCA$23.8M13
THE ALLIANCE FOR CLIMATE PROTECTIONWashingtonDC$23.8M11
BLUE INVESTMENTS FOR NATURE INCArlingtonVA$23.7M5
Big Sur Land TrustMontereyCA$23.2M6
Natural Lands Trust IncMediaPA$22.9M11
Bay Area Environmental Research InstituteMoffet FieldCA$22.6M6
WATER FOUNDATIONSacramentoCA$22.3M7
GUIDED DISCOVERIES INCSan ClementeCA$22.1M8
Ecology Action of Santa CruzSanta CruzCA$22.1M14
Maine Coast Heritage TrustTopshamME$22M7
Forth Mobility FundPortlandOR$21.8M6
ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUPWashingtonDC$21.8M9
THE LAND TRUST FOR SANTA BARBARA COUNTYSanta BarbaraCA$21.7M4
Puerto Rico Conservation Trust FundSan JuanPR$21.4M1
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS LAND TRUSTHonoluluHI$21.4M2
REALTY GIFT FUNDSanta FeNM$20.8M3
CLIMATE POLICY INITIATIVE INCSan FranciscoCA$20.8M9
Michigan SavesLansingMI$20.6M0
MINNESOTA LAND TRUSTSaint PaulMN$20.3M5
AMERICAN FOREST FOUNDATIONWashingtonDC$20.3M10
NATUREBRIDGESausalitoCA$20.2M8
Galveston Bay Foundation IncKemahTX$20.2M4
LAND TRUST ALLIANCE INCWashingtonDC$20.1M10
Coastal Prairie ConservancyHoustonTX$19.9M3
PARKS AND WILDLIFE FOUNDATION OF TEXASDallasTX$19.9M6
WE MEAN BUSINESS COALITION INCNew YorkNY$19.8M10
TETON SCIENCE SCHOOLS INCJacksonWY$19.6M7
GILROY GARDENS FAMILY THEME PARKGilroyCA$19.6M3
United States Endowment for ForestryGreenvilleSC$19.5M10
350ORGBostonMA$19.5M7
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT & TECHNOLOGY FOUNDATIONArlingtonVA$19.5M4
MASSACHUSETTS SERVICE ALLIANCE INCBostonMA$18.9M3
10 KLICKS OUTDOORS INCBrooksGA$18.9M0
WALKER BASIN CONSERVANCYRenoNV$18.9M1
Memorial Park Conservancy IncHoustonTX$18.9M7
Scenic Hudson IncPoughkeepsieNY$18.8M10
The Ocean FoundationWashingtonDC$18.8M7
KANSAS ASSOCIATION OF CHILD CARE RESOURCE AND REFERRAL AGENCIESSalinaKS$18.5M2
CLEARPATH INCWashingtonDC$18.4M9
Smart Electric Power AllianceWashingtonDC$18.4M7
PARA LA NATURALEZA INCSan JuanPR$18.3M9
ECOLOGY CENTERBerkeleyCA$18.1M6