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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Aitkin County Growth Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 411555856
MN · NTEE S30Z
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 10, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Stan Gustafson, Executive Director / CEO ($85,032) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 194 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 48th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

194 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 194 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$211 total compensation of comparable organizations → $246,945 $85,032
$27,25510th
$54,48125th
$87,861Median
$115,72275th
$150,68090th
$85,032This org · 48th
p10$27,255
p25$54,481
p50$87,861
p75$115,722
p90$150,680
$85,032

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
Long Beach Accelerator Inc CA$415,792 Executive Dir. $170,445 $153,349 2023
Heart Of The Tree City Inc IN$414,397 Executive Di $22,174 $24,364 2023
Bloomfield Center Alliance Inc NJ$414,130 Exec. Director $99,864 $90,235 2024
Wabash Economic Growth Allianceinc IN$413,922 Director Of $135,000 $144,078 2024
Explore Sisters OR$412,708 Executive Director $109,318 $102,740 2024
White Mountain Economic Development AZ$410,971 Executive Dir. $87,218 $84,889 2024
Bside Fund CO$421,663 Chief Executive Officer $2,371 $2,301 2024
Innovation For Green Advanced CA$407,982 Exec Dir, Treasurer $150,000 $127,705 2025
Oyster Bay Main Street Association NY$425,779 Executive Director Terminated Jan 2025 $79,000 $70,383 2025
Hyattsville Community Development MD$406,067 Executive Director $95,000 $89,885 2024
Main Street Pascagoula MS$426,927 Executive Di $60,875 $68,615 2024
Vernon Economic Development WI$402,740 Executive Director $88,080 $93,094 2024
Wenatchee Downtown Association WA$402,652 Executive Director $83,932 $76,049 2024
Princeton Business Partnership NJ$402,438 Executive Director $116,642 $105,396 2024
Historic Hillsboro Downtown Partnership OR$402,408 Executive Director $44,219 $40,487 2025
The Villages Community Development Corp MI$401,574 Executive Director $73,034 $76,290 2024
Economic Development Council TX$401,483 Executive Di $243,933 $246,945 2024
Ravalli County Economic Development MT$430,835 Executive Dir. $58,135 $63,420 2024
Kodiak Archipelago Leadership Institute AK$400,877 Executive Director $100,059 $96,812 2024
Waukesha County Center For Growth Inc WI$400,269 Executive Director $174,758 $184,707 2024
Forest City Food Collective OH$400,126 Executive Director $70,200 $73,307 2025
Trend Community Development Corporation IL$399,854 Coo $107,965 $110,592 2023
Stevenson Downtown Association WA$433,708 Executive Director $68,210 $61,804 2024
Fort Belknap Community Economic Develop MT$396,766 Chairman $300 $327 2024
Summit Economic Partnership CO$393,014 Ceo $135,000 $131,006 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 default48th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)48th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted49th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted40th

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 (Stan Gustafson) 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 10, 2026, comparing compensation against 194 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $85,032 is reasonable (approximately the 48th 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 10, 2026.