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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 392011795
WI · NTEE W059
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Danny Katz, Executive Director / CEO ($13,534) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 310 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 24th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

310 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 310 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$48 total compensation of comparable organizations → $560,402 $13,534
$4,64210th
$14,34525th
$35,789Median
$66,78575th
$98,30290th
$13,534This org · 24th
p10$4,642
p25$14,345
p50$35,789
p75$66,785
p90$98,302
$13,534

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 WI 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
Transit Forward TX$210,750 Director $163,288 $156,400 2023
The Cibolo Conservancy TX$209,504 Director Of Operations $24,000 $22,988 2023
Democracy 21 Education Fund DC$211,001 President & Ceo $61,849 $50,478 2024
Arise & Go CA$211,406 President $79,793 $64,082 2024
Values To Action OR$208,951 Trustee $15,593 $13,468 2024
Hawaii Solar Energy Association Inc HI$211,932 Executive Director $120,000 $99,921 2024
Catawba Valley Leadership Foundation Inc NC$212,187 Foundation Director $42,375 $40,722 2024
Marsha Water Supply Corporation TX$212,265 President $32,435 $30,175 2024
Shannon Leadership Institute MN$208,093 Executive Director (Through July 2024) $12,500 $11,487 2024
Western States Strategies OR$208,010 Executive Director $15,176 $13,108 2024
The South County News MI$207,769 President $14,245 $13,674 2024
New Americans Initiative KY$207,754 Director Of Operations $99,680 $99,602 2024
Sandy Springs Arts Foundation Inc GA$212,856 Foundation Mgr. $85,000 $79,487 2024
Peoples Foundation For Connecting Community Military & Veterans CA$207,511 Secretary $1,500 $1,240 2023
The Niwot Ditch Company CO$207,506 Secretary $2,500 $2,389 2022
Nm Voters First NM$213,100 Executive Director $24,000 $24,007 2024
Dtom 220 Foundation SD$207,188 Ceo, Chairman Of The Board $36,040 $38,085 2023
American Legion Morris Snuggerud Post Membership WI$207,094 3rd Vice Commandergm $51,688 $50,205 2024
Westacres Credit Union MI$213,738 Manager $22,086 $21,201 2024
American Water Works Association AL$213,869 Section Executive Director $71,000 $71,338 2024
Bold Leadership Network SC$206,208 Secretary $18,540 $18,520 2023
American Salvage Association Inc VA$205,849 Interim Executive Director $42,000 $38,830 2023
Georgia Athletic Directors Association GA$214,748 Executive Director $6,000 $5,611 2024
The Steel Horse Rally Inc AR$205,571 President $145,333 $151,934 2024
Mashup Nashville TN$205,448 Chief Executive Officer $18,960 $19,083 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WI cost of living and 2023 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 WI 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 default24th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)21st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted76th

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 (Danny Katz) 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 310 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (W), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $13,534 is reasonable (approximately the 24th 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.