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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Illinois Retail Merchants Association

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 363956569
IL · NTEE B82
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Robert Karr, Executive Director / CEO ($43,138) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 39 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 77th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Robert Karr — reported title “TREASURER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

39 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 39 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,126 total compensation of comparable organizations → $204,339 $43,138
$2,91510th
$5,47325th
$14,339Median
$39,38475th
$61,75090th
$43,138This org · 77th
p10$2,915
p25$5,473
p50$14,339
p75$39,384
p90$61,750
$43,138

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
Ibew Local 8 Scholarship Fund OH$46,880 Trustee $55,355 $61,398 2023
Cahp Foundation Trust CA$46,539 Trustee $41,152 $36,145 2024
Annie J Maccoll Charitable Trust FL$47,878 Trustee $22,519 $22,154 2023
Clean Slate E3 Inc PA$46,304 President $45,261 $45,911 2024
Printing Industry Assoc Of Ga GA$45,988 Ex-officio $6,933 $7,300 2023
Pine Cone Foundation CA$45,312 President/cfo $50,000 $43,917 2024
Harrison County Educational Foundat KY$48,958 Secretary/tr $6,000 $6,557 2024
The John R Mott Scholarship VA$49,049 Director $2,000 $1,964 2024
Project Zawadi Inc MN$49,152 Executive Direc $5,417 $5,445 2024
Kll Memorial Scholarship Foundation KS$49,336 Treasurer $1,025 $1,126 2024
Nbs Classical Music Institute Inc PA$49,539 Consultant $5,500 $5,743 2023
C J Francis Iii Foundation OH$49,811 Director; Treasurer $1,950 $2,101 2024
Ilpa Scholarships Forever Inc IA$50,432 Executive Di $5,764 $6,609 2023
California Association Of Winegrape CA$43,379 Executive Di $18,609 $16,345 2024
Wisconsin State Telecommunications WI$43,175 Treasurer, S $20,190 $22,081 2023
Airmen Memorial Foundation Inc MD$51,291 Treasurer $8,743 $8,314 2024
Yau High School Sciences Awards MA$51,477 Treasurer/director $9,416 $8,861 2023
Ohio Contractors Association Advancement OH$51,788 Treasurer/secretary $49,422 $53,244 2024
The John Tramontano Jr Educational PA$42,298 President/tr $14,222 $14,426 2024
Otho Davis Scholarship Foundat NJ$52,243 Exec Director $20,000 $18,163 2024
Hepburn Bootstrap Foundation Inc WI$52,463 Assistant Secretary $57,748 $63,158 2023
Fsa Scholarship Foundation TX$53,115 Executive Director $17,400 $18,227 2023
Wireless Infrastructure Association VA$53,833 President $42,749 $41,985 2024
Vicki Romero Foundation AZ$39,354 President $19,350 $18,929 2024
Independent Sports Club Of Central IL$55,835 Treasurer $3,200 $3,118 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL 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 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 default77th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)77th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted95th

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 (Robert Karr) 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 39 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B82), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $43,138 is reasonable (approximately the 77th 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.