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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 7 of 220

Name
City
State
Revenue
Executives
WILDERNESS INQUIRY INCBloomingtonMN$12.2M5
THE PIEDMONT ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCILWarrentonVA$12M7
THE ROAD HOME CORPORATION INCBaton RougeLA$12M2
CENTER FOR ECOTECHNOLOGY INCDaltonMA$12M6
NATIONAL CENTER FOR APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGYButteMT$11.9M4
OCEANTIC NETWORK INCBaltimoreMD$11.9M6
GREATER DES MOINES BOTANICAL GARDENDes MoinesIA$11.8M2
THE YERBA BUENA GARDENS CONSERVANCYSan FranciscoCA$11.8M7
Hermann Park ConservancyHoustonTX$11.8M4
OWAMNIYOMNI OKHODAYAPIMinneapolisMN$11.8M2
THE HOLDEN ARBORETUMKirtlandOH$11.8M7
CLIMATE POWER EDUCATION FUNDWashingtonDC$11.7M7
Rainforest Action NetworkSan FranciscoCA$11.6M9
INSTITUTE FOR ENERGY ECONOMICS AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS INCValley CityOH$11.5M7
CLEAN STREAMS FOUNDATION INCLexingtonKY$11.4M0
MONGABAY ORG CORPMenlo ParkCA$11.4M2
CONSERVANCY FOR CUYAHOGA VALLEY NATIONAL PARKPeninsulaOH$11.3M4
URBAN SUSTAINABILITY DIRECTORS NETWORKSanfordNC$11.3M9
OCEAN RISK AND RESILIENCE ACTION ALLIANCE INCWashingtonDC$11.3M7
THE TRUST FOR TOMORROWFairfieldNC$11.3M1
NORTH FLORIDA LAND TRUST INCJacksonvilleFL$11.2M4
Little Traverse Conservancy IncHarbor SpringsMI$11.2M2
GEORGIA-ALABAMA LAND TRUST INCPiedmontAL$11.2M3
Clean Future Forum IncWashingtonDC$11.1M3
THE DIGDEEP RIGHT TO WATER PROJECTLos AngelesCA$11.1M8
FOREST TRENDS ASSOCIATIONWashingtonDC$11.1M13
Sutter Mutual Water CompanyRobbinsCA$11.1M3
WRLD FoundationWilmingtonDE$11M1
Casey TreesWashingtonDC$11M7
GREAT PENINSULA CONSERVANCYBremertonWA$11M1
Wetlands America Trust IncMemphisTN$11M5
SEMPERVIRENS FUNDLos AltosCA$11M10
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY CENTER OF THE MIDWESTChicagoIL$10.9M11
Green Building Initiative IncPortlandOR$10.9M6
RIVERSIDE PARK CONSERVANCY INCNew YorkNY$10.9M3
INCLUSIVE PROSPERITY CAPITAL INCHartfordCT$10.8M12
GREEN BLUE INSTITUTECharlottesvilleVA$10.7M4
California Environmental Justice AllianceOaklandCA$10.7M1
RIVERLIFEPittsburghPA$10.6M2
Summit Land ConservancyPark CityUT$10.6M3
ZION NATURAL HISTORY ASSOCIATIONSpringdaleUT$10.5M4
COLORADO YOUTH CORPS ASSOCIATIONDenverCO$10.5M1
LAND TRUST OF SANTA CRUZ COUNTYSanta CruzCA$10.5M4
ECO-CYCLE INCBoulderCO$10.5M5
IOWA CONFLUENCE WATER TRAILSDes MoinesIA$10.4M1
CENTER FOR CARBON REMOVALWashingtonDC$10.4M8
CHESAPEAKE CONSERVANCY INCAnnapolisMD$10.4M6
Climate Justice AllianceBerkeleyCA$10.4M11
West Harlem Environmental Action IncNew YorkNY$10.4M6
GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN STEWARDSHIP FOUNDATION INCLinvilleNC$10.4M2