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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Western Michigan University

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 382138856
MI · NTEE B110
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Kristen R Devries, Executive Director / CEO ($47,072) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 51 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 10th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Kristen R Devries — reported title “SECRETARY, E”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

51 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 51 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$12,468 total compensation of comparable organizations → $3,290,847 $47,072
$47,37110th
$158,88725th
$358,841Median
$443,15375th
$547,42690th
$47,072This org · 10th
p10$47,371
p25$158,887
p50$358,841
p75$443,153
p90$547,426
$47,072

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 MI 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
Forrestal Agricultural Corporation NJ$58,705,756 President, Trustee $3,695,240 $3,290,847 2023
The University Of Montana Foundation MT$59,044,285 President & Ceo $401,058 $418,843 2024
Ics Support Organization Inc WI$58,293,460 Chair $36,000 $37,501 2023
Southwestern Law School CA$59,282,187 President & Dean $482,649 $415,706 2023
Chico State Enterprises CA$59,565,301 Board Secretary, Cse Ceo $231,875 $199,714 2023
🔒 46 more comparable organizations — included in the purchased report

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MI 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 MI 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 default10th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)10th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted39th

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:

Ready-to-adopt board minutes — executive compensation

🔒 The complete minutes language — three numbered resolutions pre-filled with this organization, the 51-organization comparison, the date, and the percentile finding, ready to paste into your minutes — is included in the purchased report.

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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.