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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Spirit Of America Foundation Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 341801766
OH · NTEE N67
FY ending 2024-09-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Cecilia Duer, Executive Director / CEO ($85,623) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 114 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 89th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Cecilia Duer — reported title “CEO/PRESIDEN”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

114 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 114 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$758 total compensation of comparable organizations → $115,899 $85,623
$11,66510th
$29,09125th
$53,955Median
$72,11875th
$85,72290th
$85,623This org · 89th
p10$11,665
p25$29,091
p50$53,955
p75$72,118
p90$85,722
$85,623

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
Mission Aurora Colorado Swim Team CO$410,117 Head Coach $73,502 $64,828 2025
Valpo Surf Project Inc ME$415,175 Founder / Ceo $83,255 $78,711 2024
Lexington Dolphins Inc KY$415,197 Ceo $60,120 $60,984 2024
Tristar Rowing TN$418,972 Executive Dir. $10,094 $10,018 2024
Boilermaker Aquatics Inc IN$419,604 Head Coach $73,098 $70,905 2025
Team Y2k IL$403,387 President $90,500 $86,484 2023
Bay Ridge Aquatics Institute Inc NY$398,298 Treasurer $30,983 $26,433 2024
Upper Arlington Crew Inc OH$427,393 Executive Di $3,000 $2,923 2025
City Island Rowing Inc NY$397,021 Executive Dire $65,675 $57,686 2023
Camp Randall Rowing Club Inc WI$430,056 Head Coach $22,917 $22,597 2024
Hingham High School Rowing Assoc MA$433,996 Program Director $30,175 $25,601 2024
Cdm Aquatics Federation CA$388,281 President $30,150 $25,307 2023
Solano Aquatic Sea Otters CA$386,023 Coach $79,800 $65,059 2024
Long Beach Shore Aquatics Inc CA$385,894 President $35,650 $29,065 2024
East Carolina Aquatics Inc NC$440,654 Ceo $76,100 $72,326 2025
Verona Area Swim Team Inc WI$441,450 Vice President $769 $758 2024
Frederick Area Swim Team Inc MD$382,688 President $2,943 $2,675 2023
Swift Aquatics Llc IL$380,135 Officer $76,346 $72,958 2023
Spokane Waves Aquatic Team WA$447,497 Head Coach $66,700 $58,047 2023
Lakeshore Swim Club Corp OH$450,349 Head Coach $62,404 $62,404 2024
Bare Hill Rowing Association Inc MA$450,700 Program Director $56,875 $48,254 2024
Thunder Inc TN$451,570 Director/coach $80,000 $79,395 2024
South Tampa Aquatic Team FL$369,845 President $41,000 $36,365 2024
Oregon Rowing Unlimited-pdx OR$369,726 President $73,298 $66,165 2023
Marin County Swim Association CA$369,711 President $34,750 $29,167 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to OH 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 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 default89th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)87th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted89th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted89th

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 (Cecilia Duer) 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 114 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (N67), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $85,623 is reasonable (approximately the 89th 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.