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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Working Dogs For Vets

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 472426504
TN · NTEE W30
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Kenneth Knabenshue, Executive Director / CEO ($32,513) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 85 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 38th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Kenneth Knabenshue — reported title “President”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

85 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 85 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,759 total compensation of comparable organizations → $588,404 $32,513
$13,68510th
$24,31625th
$46,220Median
$70,36175th
$93,37290th
$32,513This org · 38th
p10$13,685
p25$24,316
p50$46,220
p75$70,361
p90$93,372
$32,513

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 TN 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
Idaho Veterans Network Corporation ID$347,789 Director $14,400 $14,573 2025
Leroy O Buck Post No 7863 Vfw Inc PA$354,076 Employee $46,717 $44,321 2025
Hunting With Heroes Inc WY$344,305 Sec-tres-director $18,000 $18,822 2024
Idaho Veterans Chamber Of Commerce ID$343,929 President $80,640 $86,245 2023
The Mandatum Foundation VA$355,534 Lead Coach $14,500 $13,672 2024
Vallejo Veterans Building Council CA$340,530 Building Manager $22,500 $19,533 2023
Mckinney-montgomery Post 141 OK$358,425 Finance Officer $24,788 $26,654 2024
Sinking Spring Veterans Home Association PA$362,972 Treasurer $24,850 $24,914 2023
Special Ops Xcursions TN$366,586 President $55,000 $56,455 2024
Department Of Illinois Vfw Auxiliary Inc IL$326,983 Secretary $14,600 $14,431 2023
American Legion Post 286 Inc FL$326,398 Past Command $18,820 $16,820 2025
Heroes Linked CA$373,514 Ceo $154,418 $130,210 2024
Midwest Region Laborers Veterans IL$324,882 Legislative Director $139,724 $134,140 2024
Veteran Community Initiatives Inc PA$375,086 President $66,575 $64,832 2024
Vetgroup Inc NJ$376,568 Executive Dir. $51,491 $46,220 2023
Veterans Ride For Free CT$376,888 Secretary $18,200 $16,664 2024
Advocate DC$377,801 Officer $441,381 $378,231 2024
American Freedom Foundation FL$378,457 President $132,509 $125,149 2023
Honor Bell Foundation Inc CO$319,693 Executive Di $43,541 $40,770 2024
Texas National Guard Family Support Foundation TX$317,202 Executive Director/grant Manager $28,806 $28,138 2024
Hesperus AZ$381,890 Executive Director $86,154 $80,911 2024
Independence For Veterans Inc NJ$383,925 President $73,517 $65,991 2023
Lake Belton Vfw 10377 TX$384,655 Quartermaster $14,400 $13,704 2025
Veterans Of Foreign Wars Dept Vfw Ky KY$314,084 Quartermaster $31,000 $31,685 2025
Veterans Of Foreign Wars Of The Us Dpt Of Virginia VA$311,633 Quartermaster $28,600 $26,271 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TN 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 TN 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 default38th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)38th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted39th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted36th

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 (Kenneth Knabenshue) 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 85 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (W30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $32,513 is reasonable (approximately the 38th 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.