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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Wisconsin Society For Ornithology

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 396040605
WI · NTEE U53C
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jennifer Lazewski, Executive Director / CEO ($57,750) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 77 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 69th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Jennifer Lazewski — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

77 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 77 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$4,254 total compensation of comparable organizations → $172,876 $57,750
$10,38510th
$21,83525th
$45,454Median
$84,76775th
$109,91990th
$57,750This org · 69th
p10$10,385
p25$21,835
p50$45,454
p75$84,767
p90$109,919
$57,750

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
Rocky Mountain Association CO$184,439 Executive Di $99,063 $90,954 2024
Adirondack Public Observatory Inc NY$185,687 Administrator $28,404 $24,576 2024
Precision Metalforming Association OH$180,396 Executive Director $8,519 $8,640 2024
Csrm Foundation Inc MD$189,087 Vice President $27,808 $25,628 2023
Human Computation Institute Inc NY$174,977 Exec Director $47,647 $41,226 2024
Greater Memphis It Council TN$171,245 Executive Director & Secre $78,433 $81,274 2023
The Marine Research Hub FL$199,048 Executive Director $47,349 $42,591 2024
P3 Exhibits Corporation CA$201,421 Director $25,501 $21,085 2024
University Consortium For Geographic Info Science VA$202,880 Executive Director $44,363 $41,015 2024
Institute For Broadening Participation ME$203,434 Executive Director $69,739 $68,841 2023
Airfuel Alliance OR$160,830 President $48,000 $42,682 2024
International Microwave Power Institute VA$206,535 Executive Director $47,754 $45,454 2023
Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network TX$207,480 Executive Director $88,500 $84,767 2024
Punxsutawney Weather Center Inc PA$158,655 Center Direc $22,867 $21,835 2024
Biosphere Foundation CA$208,578 President $20,000 $16,536 2024
5 Lakes Institute WI$158,500 Executive Di $87,400 $85,147 2025
Aci Center Of Excellence For MI$156,667 Treasurer $37,236 $36,801 2024
Council Of Professional Associations On DC$211,529 Executive Director $190,928 $160,428 2024
Native Skywatchers Incorporated MN$212,233 Director $101,409 $98,781 2023
Talkstem TX$213,328 Ceo $53,505 $51,248 2024
Biological Stain Commission Inc NY$152,160 90 Eagle Chase, Woodbury, Ny 11797 $19,476 $16,851 2024
Octo WA$215,773 Director And President $110,000 $94,300 2024
Lepidopterists Society CA$149,918 Secretary $7,500 $6,385 2023
Florida International University FL$149,034 Director $60,783 $56,290 2023
Washington State Academy Of Sciences WA$218,480 Executive Director $9,962 $8,540 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WI 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 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 default69th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)65th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted69th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted57th

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 (Jennifer Lazewski) 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 77 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (U), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $57,750 is reasonable (approximately the 69th 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.