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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

American Legion Post 401

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 316181470
OH · NTEE W30Z
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of William Sayre, Executive Director / CEO ($4,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 61 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 23rd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: William Sayre — reported title “1ST VICE COM”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

61 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 61 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$47 total compensation of comparable organizations → $88,546 $4,000
$1,77410th
$4,21725th
$14,893Median
$35,85475th
$49,50490th
$4,000This org · 23rd
p10$1,774
p25$4,217
p50$14,893
p75$35,854
p90$49,504
$4,000

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 OH 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
American Legion Post 169 Inc MI$139,586 Commander, Finance Officer $2,100 $2,046 2023
Acworth & Kennesaw Post 5408 Veterans Of Foreign W GA$142,715 Adjutant $50 $47 2023
Tioga American Legion Post 139 ND$137,632 Finance Officer / Gaming Manager $21,500 $21,637 2024
Semper Fi Flo Foundation MN$143,143 Executive Director $54,000 $47,672 2025
Wisconsin Vfw Foundation Inc WI$136,914 Director $4,684 $4,486 2024
Warriors Rock PA$135,753 Secretary $40,800 $37,312 2024
Valhalla Veterans Services PA$144,845 Executive Director $24,000 $21,948 2024
Veterans Of Foreign Wars Of The United States Inc NY$147,445 Bartender/janitorial $17,972 $14,893 2024
American Legion NY$147,565 Commander $15,995 $12,913 2025
Operation Barnabas Inc FL$149,300 Ceo $24,000 $21,287 2023
Veterans Of Foreign Wars Of The ME$151,224 Commander $300 $275 2024
Lexington Vfw Post 8738 SC$151,619 Canteen Manager $25,476 $24,373 2024
Louisiana National Guard Enlisted Association LA$127,680 Executive Director $7,400 $7,693 2023
American Legion Whitestown Post 1113 NY$127,346 Service Officer $58,425 $48,416 2024
The Jewish War Veterans Of The United DC$154,544 National Executive Director $3,021 $2,503 2023
American Legion Post 234 IN$125,706 Commander $9,809 $9,766 2023
Hand In Hand Partnership AL$125,038 Secretary And Treasurer $67,084 $68,426 2023
Kirk Casey Post No 366 Of The American Legion Depa NY$157,640 1st Vice Commander $35,500 $30,287 2023
Roa Standing Together For America's DC$159,298 Executive Director $18,644 $15,447 2023
In Honor Of Our Troops MD$159,452 Chairman President $26,000 $22,292 2024
The American Legion Northridge Post 746 Memorial Building Inc OH$120,835 Bartender $4,313 $4,081 2025
American Legion Post 87 NC$120,375 Finance Officer $2,200 $2,146 2023
Veteran Business Project Inc IL$118,064 Ceo $72,500 $65,365 2024
Hershey Memorial Post 3502 Canteen PA$117,525 Canteen Mana $40,905 $38,514 2023
Spencer-ralston Post No 1254 KS$163,557 Quatermaster $750 $724 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to OH cost of living and 2023 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 OH 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 default23rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)20th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted26th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted21st

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 (William Sayre) 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 61 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (W30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $4,000 is reasonable (approximately the 23rd 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.