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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Downtown Eau Claire Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 030376253
WI · NTEE S31
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Erin Klaus, Executive Director / CEO ($2,179) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 90 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 2nd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Erin Klaus — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

90 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 90 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$54 total compensation of comparable organizations → $229,851 $2,179
$9,07110th
$27,36125th
$57,844Median
$85,99375th
$112,90790th
$2,179This org · 2nd
p10$9,071
p25$27,361
p50$57,844
p75$85,993
p90$112,907
$2,179

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 WI 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
Frameworks Community Development TX$272,890 Executive Director $125,634 $120,335 2024
Brooks Gives Back Inc TX$274,902 President & Ceo $40,675 $38,959 2024
Aaa Residential Resources Inc TN$269,539 President And Executive Director $50,000 $50,324 2024
Lemmon Area Charitable And SD$276,018 Executive Dir. $43,200 $45,652 2024
Custer Economic Development NE$267,078 Executive Di $56,500 $58,187 2024
Cultivala Inc CA$279,547 President $43,680 $37,182 2023
Boc Development Corporation NY$261,928 President $34,036 $30,319 2023
Louisville Asset Building Coalition Inc KY$283,128 Program Director $65,720 $65,865 2025
South Waterfront Community Relations OR$284,115 Executive Director $141,500 $125,823 2024
Akron Development Corporation OH$284,160 Vice President $51,130 $53,385 2023
Campaign For A Drug Free Westside IL$260,009 Ceo $56,950 $53,610 2024
Fresno Revitalization Corporation CA$285,903 Exec. Dir./ceo $164,353 $132,388 2025
Community Investment Corporation IL$257,035 President $68,779 $64,745 2024
Lakeview Community Partnership OR$288,876 Secretary/treasurer $4,438 $3,946 2024
Midtown Elizabeth District Management Corporation Inc NJ$253,742 Executive Director $84,904 $72,586 2024
Plainfield Central Business District Management Co NJ$253,657 Executive Director $88,846 $75,956 2024
Development Chenango Corporation NY$252,762 Executive Director $16,323 $14,540 2023
Mlk Avenue Redevelopment Corp AL$292,407 Executive Di $90,000 $95,850 2023
Common Ground Works Inc WI$292,983 Executive Director $23,192 $23,877 2023
East Falls Development Corporation PA$251,481 Exec Director $77,449 $73,954 2024
Willow Springs Community Foundation MO$295,121 Executive Director $53,300 $54,055 2024
Jeffersonville Urban Enterprise IN$295,205 Executive Director $5,000 $5,049 2024
City Of Kingston Local Development NY$249,090 Executive Director $17,348 $15,010 2024
Natick Center Associates Inc MA$247,738 Executive Di $21,875 $18,822 2024
Aransas County Partnership Edc TX$247,377 President $126,000 $120,685 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WI 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 WI 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 default2nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)2nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted24th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted2nd

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 (Erin Klaus) 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 90 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S31), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $2,179 is reasonable (approximately the 2nd 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.