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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Lake Zurich Post 964 American Legion

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 366206063
IL · NTEE W30
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Robert Pugh, Executive Director / CEO ($19,875) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 25 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 68th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Robert Pugh — reported title “FINANCE OFFICER (THRU 10/24)”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

25 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 25 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$464 total compensation of comparable organizations → $98,213 $19,875
$1,48810th
$3,52925th
$9,598Median
$30,76075th
$60,58790th
$19,875This org · 68th
p10$1,488
p25$3,529
p50$9,598
p75$30,760
p90$60,587
$19,875

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
Veterans Home Association Of Valley View PA$80,299 Head Bar Tender $23,188 $24,216 2023
100 Entrepreneurs Foundation Inc MD$79,404 President & $37,579 $36,792 2023
American Legion Post 165 CT$81,585 Adjutant $500 $464 2025
Silver Spring Memorial Post 2562 Vf MD$78,130 Post Quartermaster $2,600 $2,546 2023
Department Of Massachusetts Vfw Auxiliary Inc MA$83,297 President $4,703 $4,299 2024
Us For Warriors Foundation CA$84,114 Executive Director $2,175 $1,910 2024
Patriotic Kenny Foundation MN$75,889 Executive Di $6,500 $6,533 2024
Brockport Area Veterans Club Inc NY$84,547 Treasurer $1,275 $1,207 2023
Byron L Sylvaro Post 82 American Legion MA$75,389 Jr Vice Commander $10,500 $9,598 2024
American Legion VT$74,473 First Vice Commander $3,348 $3,529 2023
Operation Vet Fit Inc SC$86,309 President $17,240 $18,294 2024
American Legion Post #132 Emerson & Lane ME$72,742 Commander $1,200 $1,191 2025
St Cloud Standdown Inc MN$96,010 Director $2,400 $2,412 2024
American Legion Post 333 IN$97,240 Service Officer $4,360 $4,677 2024
Kiester Legion Post 454 MN$97,728 Commander $4,716 $4,740 2024
Feast Of Crispian WI$98,596 President & Managing Director $28,125 $30,760 2023
Veterans Of Foreign Wars Department Of CA$58,540 Quarter Master $12,000 $10,540 2024
Stamford Veterans Park Partnership Inc CT$57,293 Executive Director $82,500 $76,653 2025
Cecil Field Powmia Memorial Inc FL$107,335 Director $10,408 $9,945 2024
Lebaron Post Home Association PA$107,789 Director $4,700 $4,908 2023
Servicemen's Club Inc MN$108,950 Club Manager $40,062 $41,455 2023
American Legion Post 12 VT$109,920 Finance Offi $15,000 $15,357 2024
Gen Richard G Stillwell Korean War VA$114,696 President $100,000 $98,213 2024
Hershey Memorial Post 3502 Canteen PA$117,525 Canteen Mana $40,905 $42,718 2023
Veteran Business Project Inc IL$118,064 Ceo $72,500 $72,500 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 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 default68th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)68th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted68th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted68th

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 Pugh) 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 25 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (W30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $19,875 is reasonable (approximately the 68th 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.