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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Northstar Search And Rescue

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 411855873
MN · NTEE M23Z
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Diane Butterfield, Executive Director / CEO ($125,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 336 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 96th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Diane Butterfield — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

336 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 336 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$8 total compensation of comparable organizations → $281,639 $125,000
$79410th
$3,19825th
$15,330Median
$52,16375th
$86,49790th
$125,000This org · 96th
p10$794
p25$3,198
p50$15,330
p75$52,163
p90$86,497
$125,000

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
Safe Ride Foundation Inc MD$358,647 Executive Director $39,650 $36,548 2025
Tri-county Firesafe Working Group MT$358,014 Former Executive Director $44,398 $49,864 2023
Horicon Fire Department Inc NY$357,249 Chief $1,500 $1,412 2023
East Rivanna Vol Fire Company Inc VA$357,056 Treasurer $4,563 $4,459 2024
Huntingdon Valley Fire Co PA$356,660 Treasurer $6,000 $6,055 2024
Blossom Fire Company Inc NY$356,244 President $599 $564 2023
Stone Lake Area Fire Department Inc WI$363,341 President $1,116 $1,214 2023
Tree Care Industry NH$356,090 Past Cfo $29,536 $27,601 2024
Cridersville Volunteer Fire Departm OH$355,850 Fire Chief $14,638 $16,153 2023
Dade County Firefighters Benevolent Association Inc FL$365,120 President/director $13,339 $13,056 2023
Evansville Police Department Foundation IN$365,346 Executive Director $22,500 $24,013 2024
New Auburn Area Fire Department Inc WI$353,312 Secretary/treasurer $5,000 $5,285 2024
Olanta Rural Fire Department Inc SC$353,299 Chief $75,842 $78,009 2025
New Jersey Crime Victim Law Center Inc NJ$367,377 Director $111,457 $103,685 2023
Ronkonkoma Fire Department Inc NY$351,973 Treasurer $1,200 $1,097 2024
Orr's & Bailey Islands Fire Department ME$367,598 Fire Chief $6,749 $6,839 2024
Wolfhurst Central Volunteer Fire OH$351,885 President $12,906 $13,834 2024
Lanes Creek Volunteer Fire Department Inc NC$367,820 Member-part Time Firefighter $8,340 $8,978 2023
Conneaut Lake Volunteer Fire PA$368,647 Director $3,281 $3,409 2023
Ridgecrest Volunteer Fire Dept Inc NC$368,905 Chief $9,034 $9,726 2023
Missing Kid Alert Dba Gateway For Kids MI$370,048 Director $124,469 $133,858 2023
William R Davie Volunteer Fire Dept NC$349,487 Chief $71,374 $72,711 2025
Old Forge Volunteer Fire Department Inc NY$348,275 Secretary Treasurer $5,400 $5,085 2023
Delhi Volunteer Fire Department Inc LA$371,331 Fire Chief $40,772 $45,436 2024
Conversa Corps Incorporated CO$348,172 Chief Executive Officer $76,747 $72,557 2025

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 default96th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)97th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted97th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted93rd

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 (Diane Butterfield) 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 336 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (M), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $125,000 is reasonable (approximately the 96th 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.