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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Red Lodge Fire Rescue Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 383763630
MT · NTEE T990
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sarah A Ewald, Executive Director / CEO ($67,968) 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 84th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

$5,868 total compensation of comparable organizations → $128,171 $67,968
$15,05610th
$20,46625th
$32,516Median
$48,78075th
$73,65590th
$67,968This org · 84th
p10$15,056
p25$20,466
p50$32,516
p75$48,780
p90$73,655
$67,968

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 MT cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateTotal revenueTotal compSource
Grace Legacy Builders IncMI $168,161$76,241 990
Brighter JourneysPA $178,611$30,955 990
Temple B'rith Kodesh FoundationNY $151,828$24,582 990
Texas Nursery And Landscape Association FoundationTX $182,483$16,461 990
Muslim Sisters Of Staten Island IncNY $142,095$5,868 990
Bellows Family FoundationIL $139,463$75,243 990
Stephens County HospitalGA $136,680$19,629 990
Wyoming County Business Center IncNY $135,281$15,019 990
Manchester Bidwell Development TrustPA $196,004$51,211 990
Vermont Ski Museum IncVT $196,198$71,272 990
Futerman Supporting Foundation IncNY $198,507$25,892 990
Oak Harbor Educational FoundationWA $201,511$34,215 990
The Butterfly FoundationCO $126,917$15,112 990
Penn-harris Madison EducationalIN $206,063$48,780 990
Mercy Health Care FoundationIA $210,723$30,736 990
United Religions InitiativeCA $119,361$32,516 990
The Saban Charitable Support FundCA $118,532$29,585 990
Opportunity Living FoundationIA $216,595$10,776 990
ResponsibilityCA $222,654$128,171 990
Abbas HouseWY $223,095$36,474 990
St Ann's Of Greater Rochester IncNY $224,599$65,902 990
Operation True NorthTX $231,825$47,918 990
Replanted MinistryTX $236,771$37,119 990
Liv Like A UnicornNJ $238,307$20,466 990
Erasmus Neighborhood Federation IncNY $241,786$46,969 990

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 MT 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 default84th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)80th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted88th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted40th

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 (Sarah A Ewald) 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 (T99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $67,968 is reasonable (approximately the 84th 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). 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.