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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

National Fire Safety Council Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 382292422
MI · NTEE M24M
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Harley J Kaufman, Executive Director / CEO ($94,753) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 186 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 99th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Harley J Kaufman — reported title “PRESIDENT/DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

186 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 186 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$25 total compensation of comparable organizations → $99,259 $94,753
$54110th
$1,44925th
$4,363Median
$16,43075th
$36,93890th
$94,753This org · 99th
p10$541
p25$1,449
p50$4,363
p75$16,430
p90$36,938
$94,753

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
Invincible Fire Company Inc OH$340,930 Treasurer $3,250 $3,335 2024
Pocono Mountain Volunteer Fire Company PA$341,708 Fire Chief $1,500 $1,492 2023
Drewry Volunteer Fire Department NC$344,348 Captain $9,165 $9,175 2024
Raymond Harvel Area Ambulance Service IL$337,005 Bookkeeper $1,800 $1,714 2024
West Greenwich Volunteer Fire RI$345,252 President $4,012 $3,631 2025
Volunteer Fire Company Of Mt Lebanon Inc PA$346,736 President $666 $643 2024
Windsor Volunteer Fire Department Inc FL$334,716 Chief $26,000 $23,664 2024
Mineral Springs Volunteer Fire & NC$347,220 Chief $21,938 $21,961 2024
Thetford Volunteer Fire Department VT$333,849 Fire Chief $35,000 $35,139 2023
Old Forge Volunteer Fire Department Inc NY$348,275 Secretary Treasurer $5,400 $4,868 2023
Courtney Volunteer Fire Dept Inc NC$332,240 Chief $31,185 $32,140 2023
William R Davie Volunteer Fire Dept NC$349,487 Chief $71,374 $69,608 2025
Lone Hickory Vol Fire Dept Inc NC$329,933 Treas. $1,800 $1,802 2024
Wolfhurst Central Volunteer Fire OH$351,885 President $12,906 $13,243 2024
Jay Volunteer Fire Department Inc FL$329,745 President $3,600 $3,277 2024
Ronkonkoma Fire Department Inc NY$351,973 Treasurer $1,200 $1,051 2024
Guilford Volunteer Fire Department VT$329,439 President $7,821 $7,430 2025
Gatesville Fire Department Inc TX$328,720 Fire Chief $50,871 $49,301 2024
Olanta Rural Fire Department Inc SC$353,299 Chief $75,842 $74,680 2025
New Auburn Area Fire Department Inc WI$353,312 Secretary/treasurer $5,000 $5,059 2024
Huntington Manor Volunteer Fire NY$327,323 Chief $1,800 $1,576 2024
Cridersville Volunteer Fire Departm OH$355,850 Fire Chief $14,638 $15,464 2023
Blossom Fire Company Inc NY$356,244 President $599 $540 2023
Huntingdon Valley Fire Co PA$356,660 Treasurer $6,000 $5,797 2024
East Rivanna Vol Fire Company Inc VA$357,056 Treasurer $4,563 $4,268 2024

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 default99th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)99th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted99th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted99th

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 (Harley J Kaufman) 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 186 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (M24), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $94,753 is reasonable (approximately the 99th 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.