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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Life Mower County

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 410746994
MN · NTEE P20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dawn Helgeson, Executive Director / CEO ($52,917) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 23 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 43rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Dawn Helgeson — reported title “Executive Dir.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

23 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 23 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,500 total compensation of comparable organizations → $132,000 $52,917
$12,84310th
$43,40725th
$58,240Median
$64,59775th
$75,28690th
$52,917This org · 43rd
p10$12,843
p25$43,407
p50$58,240
p75$64,597
p90$75,286
$52,917

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
Legacy Family Center1099 MN$228,283 Executive Dir. $76,607 $76,607 2024
Community Resource Center MN$221,304 Executive Director $64,954 $64,954 2024
Conexiones MN$215,685 Executive Di $46,722 $46,722 2024
Eshara MN$236,213 Executive Director $42,000 $42,000 2024
Global Village Connect MN$212,206 Executive Di $62,708 $62,708 2024
Ministry For Orphans And Widows MN$238,480 Ceo/director $46,000 $44,814 2025
Holy Family Adoption Agency MN$242,350 Executive Di $58,240 $58,240 2024
American Heroes Outdoors MN$243,227 Gall $62,396 $64,239 2023
More MN$244,818 Executive Dir. $62,154 $62,154 2024
Uptown Association Inc MN$204,192 Executive Dir. $70,000 $70,000 2024
Vineyard Community Services MN$203,346 Executive Director $12,000 $12,354 2023
Restore Recovery MN$258,857 Ceo $58,692 $58,692 2024
All In Ministries MN$184,039 Chairman/president $103,907 $106,976 2023
Practical Rep Payee Services Inc MN$182,731 Vice President $132,000 $132,000 2024
White Bear Lake Basketball Association MN$269,489 Tournament Director $2,500 $2,500 2024
Love In The Name Of Christ - Big Wo MN$272,036 Executive Di $48,000 $46,763 2025
Bread Of Life Ministries Of Minnesota MN$287,826 President/treas $14,800 $14,800 2024
Mudcastle MN$154,581 President $13,500 $15,627 2021
Midwest Outdoors Unlimited Inc MN$295,577 President $49,500 $49,500 2024
Common Cup Ministry Inc MN$309,122 Executive Di $60,500 $62,287 2023
Atlas Of Rock County MN$316,230 Director $53,166 $54,736 2023
Lakes Life Care Center Inc MN$317,595 Director $10,800 $10,800 2024
Nursing Heart Inc MN$334,147 Executive Director $70,000 $70,000 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MN 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 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 default43rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)43rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted43rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted43rd

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 (Dawn Helgeson) 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 23 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (P20) + MN + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $52,917 is reasonable (approximately the 43rd 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.