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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Armed Forces Services Center

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 410966145
MN · NTEE W30Z
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Debra Cain, Executive Director / CEO ($48,677) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 81 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 72nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Debra Cain — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

81 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 81 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$820 total compensation of comparable organizations → $625,934 $48,677
$2,47210th
$13,39025th
$31,908Median
$51,76075th
$82,01290th
$48,677This org · 72nd
p10$2,472
p25$13,390
p50$31,908
p75$51,760
p90$82,012
$48,677

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
Burn Pits 360 TX$239,581 Director $60,000 $62,348 2024
Dunham House Inc NE$239,278 Executive Director $110,000 $122,902 2024
Watson & Black American Legion Post 126 PA$242,753 Manager $19,624 $20,929 2023
Warrior Strong Inc PA$236,873 President $75,385 $78,094 2024
Enlisted Assoc Of Natl Guard O TN$244,860 Exec Asst $41,000 $44,769 2024
Lake County Honor Flight IL$234,502 Executive Director $28,680 $30,155 2023
Amigo Air Sho Inc TX$250,000 Ceo $30,707 $31,908 2024
American Legion Post 233 IL$250,649 Manager $43,705 $44,634 2024
Patriot Military Family Foundation NC$250,832 Executive Director $19,500 $21,549 2023
South Dade Womens Veterans Alliance Inc FL$229,790 Ceo/executive Director $65,936 $64,346 2024
Lutheran Military Veterans IN$227,755 Executive Di $62,385 $68,342 2024
American Legion Post 13 AK$226,785 Manager $33,600 $34,356 2023
Mattersville CO$255,780 President & Ceo $11,500 $11,793 2023
Knott Alone--hold Fast VA$225,184 Ceo $16,197 $16,246 2024
American Legion Post #144 MI$256,579 Office Manager $30,913 $33,146 2024
Veterans Of Foreign Wars MN$224,089 Quartermast $9,705 $10,256 2023
Utah Veterans Alliance UT$258,394 President $46,600 $49,545 2024
Joint Service Special Operations MT$258,941 Executive Di $40,000 $44,791 2024
Veterans Of Foreign Wars Post 614 NM$221,500 Commander $12,301 $13,390 2025
Veterans Of Foreign Wars CA$216,406 Commander $2,020 $1,812 2024
Veterans Of Foreign Wars Department DE$266,283 Service Offi $60,000 $59,456 2025
Bourn Free Foundation NV$267,799 Cfo Treasure $9,000 $9,371 2024
Paralyzed Veterans Of America North Cent SD$268,925 Executive Director - Left 08/2024 $86,077 $98,684 2024
Peoples Foundation For Connecting Community Military & Veterans CA$207,511 Secretary $1,500 $1,385 2023
Dtom 220 Foundation SD$207,188 Ceo, Chairman Of The Board $36,040 $42,539 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 2025 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 default72nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)74th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted73rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted72nd

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 (Debra Cain) 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 81 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (W30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $48,677 is reasonable (approximately the 72nd 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.