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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Bowlus Firemens Relief Association

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 411659822
MN · NTEE M23
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Mike Scholz, Executive Director / CEO ($9,900) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 201 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 62nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Mike Scholz — reported title “GAMBLING MANAGER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

201 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 201 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2 total compensation of comparable organizations → $249,141 $9,900
$45710th
$89125th
$3,740Median
$34,70375th
$73,31090th
$9,900This org · 62nd
p10$457
p25$891
p50$3,740
p75$34,703
p90$73,310
$9,900

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
New Bethlehem Firemens Company No 1 PA$148,051 Treasurer $400 $404 2024
Winhall Fire Department Inc VT$147,391 Chief $9,709 $9,890 2024
Friendship Hose Co 1 PA$149,162 Vice President $4,500 $4,542 2024
Montezuma Fire Department Inc OH$147,032 Fire Chief $1,500 $1,608 2024
Pipestone Firefighters Relief Assoc MN$150,388 President $100 $100 2024
Lovington Comm Ambulance Serv Inc IL$145,867 Treasurer $4,050 $4,149 2023
Duval District Volunteer Fire Department WV$145,689 Treasurer $1,800 $1,972 2024
Hilton Fire Department NY$151,132 Board Treasurer $9,975 $9,122 2024
Memphis-shelby County Law Enforcement Foundation Inc TN$151,500 Executive Director $60,833 $63,045 2025
York Beach Volunteer Fire Dept ME$151,575 Treasurer/captain $2,250 $2,221 2025
Yankton Volunteer Firefighters Assn SD$144,245 President $2,080 $2,323 2024
Whitelaw Volunteer Fire Department WI$153,308 President $1,808 $1,911 2024
West Tisbury Volunteer Firemen's Civic Association Inc MA$143,210 President $1,500 $1,404 2023
Volunteer Fire Company Of Mill Hall PA$142,468 Treasurer $1,120 $1,164 2023
Capracare Inc NY$154,101 President & Ceo $10,097 $9,506 2023
Iada Foundation ID$142,147 Executive Director $105,318 $113,384 2024
Westhaven Water Supply Corporation TX$141,971 General Manager $15,945 $16,142 2024
Florida National Guard Foundation Inc FL$154,888 Executive Dir. $31,200 $29,663 2024
Brighton Volunteer Firemens NY$154,916 Secretary $833 $785 2023
Volunteer Engine Company No 2 Inc NJ$141,436 President $300 $271 2024
Green Isle Firemen's Relief Association MN$155,340 Treasurer $750 $750 2024
Port Jefferson Volunteer Firemens Benevolent Association Inc NY$155,788 Secretary $750 $706 2023
Hunter Ambulance Service ND$140,127 Director $4,872 $5,411 2024
Auburn Fire Company Ambulance Service PA$139,575 President $13,000 $13,508 2023
Columbus Fireman's Cheer Fund IN$157,344 Co-chair $1,500 $1,601 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 default62nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)61st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted67th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted62nd

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 (Mike Scholz) 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 201 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (M), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $9,900 is reasonable (approximately the 62nd 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.