Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Veterans Of Foreign Wars

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 410641065
MN · NTEE W30Z
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dennis L Hennen, Executive Director / CEO ($9,705) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 79 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 22nd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

79 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 79 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$295 total compensation of comparable organizations → $592,304 $9,705
$1,89410th
$11,61625th
$30,194Median
$47,93175th
$74,64090th
$9,705This org · 22nd
p10$1,894
p25$11,616
p50$30,194
p75$47,931
p90$74,640
$9,705

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 MN 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
Knott Alone--hold Fast VA$225,184 Ceo $16,197 $15,373 2024
Veterans Of Foreign Wars Post 614 NM$221,500 Commander $12,301 $12,670 2025
American Legion Post 13 AK$226,785 Manager $33,600 $32,510 2023
Lutheran Military Veterans IN$227,755 Executive Di $62,385 $64,670 2024
South Dade Womens Veterans Alliance Inc FL$229,790 Ceo/executive Director $65,936 $60,888 2024
Veterans Of Foreign Wars CA$216,406 Commander $2,020 $1,715 2024
Lake County Honor Flight IL$234,502 Executive Director $28,680 $28,535 2023
Warrior Strong Inc PA$236,873 President $75,385 $73,898 2024
Dunham House Inc NE$239,278 Executive Director $110,000 $116,299 2024
Burn Pits 360 TX$239,581 Director $60,000 $58,998 2024
Peoples Foundation For Connecting Community Military & Veterans CA$207,511 Secretary $1,500 $1,311 2023
Armed Forces Services Center MN$240,858 Executive Di $48,677 $46,062 2025
Dtom 220 Foundation SD$207,188 Ceo, Chairman Of The Board $36,040 $40,254 2023
American Legion Morris Snuggerud Post Membership WI$207,094 3rd Vice Commandergm $51,688 $53,063 2024
Watson & Black American Legion Post 126 PA$242,753 Manager $19,624 $19,805 2023
Hevin WA$203,834 Vice-presden $25,750 $22,662 2024
Enlisted Assoc Of Natl Guard O TN$244,860 Exec Asst $41,000 $42,364 2024
Pymatuning Veterans Home Assn PA$202,671 President $10,400 $10,195 2024
American Veterans Service Dog IL$201,691 Treasurer - $28,800 $28,654 2023
Lafayette War Veterans CA$201,261 Center Director $96,658 $84,468 2023
Veterans Of Foreign Wars Of The United CA$199,976 Treasurer $42,000 $35,650 2024
Amigo Air Sho Inc TX$250,000 Ceo $30,707 $30,194 2024
North Shore Veterans Counseling MA$197,898 Executive Di $53,000 $46,816 2024
American Legion Post 233 IL$250,649 Manager $43,705 $42,236 2024
Patriot Military Family Foundation NC$250,832 Executive Director $19,500 $20,391 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MN 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 MN 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 default22nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)22nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted25th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted20th

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 (Dennis L Hennen) 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 79 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (W30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $9,705 is reasonable (approximately the 22nd 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.