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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Dekalb County Convention & Visitors

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 320280604
IL · NTEE S41
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Cortney Strohacker, Executive Director / CEO ($76,731) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 19 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 63rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

19 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 19 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$9,624 total compensation of comparable organizations → $195,258 $76,731
$24,49510th
$33,43925th
$57,066Median
$102,15075th
$139,64090th
$76,731This org · 63rd
p10$24,495
p25$33,439
p50$57,066
p75$102,150
p90$139,640
$76,731

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 IL 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
Ireland Network Chicago Nfp IL$258,877 Executive Director $26,006 $26,694 2024
Quad Cities Foundation For Fair IL$274,541 Manager $129,654 $133,084 2024
Algonquin-lake In The Hills Chamber Of Commerce Inc IL$231,049 Executive Director $29,077 $30,728 2023
Development Partner Institute Inc IL$227,747 Executive Di $102,073 $104,774 2024
Mason Contractors Association Of IL$292,630 Executive Secretary $190,225 $195,258 2024
Chicagoland Food Inc IL$294,169 Executive Director $50,000 $51,323 2024
Austin Chamber Of Commerce IL$217,403 Executive Dir. $27,650 $32,854 2021
Rosemont Illinois Chamber Of IL$208,577 Executive Di $81,326 $83,478 2024
Apparel Industry Board Inc IL$207,450 Exec Director $41,667 $44,033 2023
Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association IL$305,762 President $54,000 $57,066 2023
American Society For Surgery Of The Hand IL$204,576 Ceo/executive Vp $96,961 $99,526 2024
Bloomington-normal Plumbing & Heating IL$203,522 Executive Direc $33,146 $34,023 2024
Pci Of Illinois & Wisconsin IL$331,997 Executive Director $9,624 $9,624 2025
Smacna Of Northern Illinois IL$332,526 Administrator $14,856 $15,699 2023
Civl Nfp Inc IL$333,119 Executive Director $49,482 $52,291 2023
Grayslake Chamber Of Commerce IL$358,319 Executive Di $70,000 $71,852 2024
Skokie Chamber Of Commerce IL$360,235 President & Ceo $109,358 $115,567 2023
Effingham Regional Growth Alliance IL$366,994 President $156,952 $165,863 2023
Logan Square Chamber Of Commerce IL$373,499 Executive Director $67,083 $68,858 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL cost of living and 2025 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 IL 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 default63rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)63rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted68th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted53rd

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 (Cortney Strohacker) 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 19 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S41) + IL + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $76,731 is reasonable (approximately the 63rd 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.