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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Lake County Honor Flight

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 473858397
IL · NTEE W30
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Paula Carballido, Executive Director / CEO ($28,680) 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 46th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Paula Carballido — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, 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

$780 total compensation of comparable organizations → $595,314 $28,680
$2,35110th
$12,73425th
$31,054Median
$49,22875th
$78,00090th
$28,680This org · 46th
p10$2,351
p25$12,734
p50$31,054
p75$49,228
p90$78,000
$28,680

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 IL 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
Warrior Strong Inc PA$236,873 President $75,385 $74,273 2024
South Dade Womens Veterans Alliance Inc FL$229,790 Ceo/executive Director $65,936 $61,198 2024
Dunham House Inc NE$239,278 Executive Director $110,000 $116,890 2024
Burn Pits 360 TX$239,581 Director $60,000 $59,298 2024
Armed Forces Services Center MN$240,858 Executive Di $48,677 $46,296 2025
Lutheran Military Veterans IN$227,755 Executive Di $62,385 $64,998 2024
American Legion Post 13 AK$226,785 Manager $33,600 $32,675 2023
Watson & Black American Legion Post 126 PA$242,753 Manager $19,624 $19,906 2023
Knott Alone--hold Fast VA$225,184 Ceo $16,197 $15,451 2024
Enlisted Assoc Of Natl Guard O TN$244,860 Exec Asst $41,000 $42,579 2024
Veterans Of Foreign Wars MN$224,089 Quartermast $9,705 $9,754 2023
Veterans Of Foreign Wars Post 614 NM$221,500 Commander $12,301 $12,734 2025
Amigo Air Sho Inc TX$250,000 Ceo $30,707 $30,348 2024
American Legion Post 233 IL$250,649 Manager $43,705 $42,451 2024
Patriot Military Family Foundation NC$250,832 Executive Director $19,500 $20,495 2023
Veterans Of Foreign Wars CA$216,406 Commander $2,020 $1,723 2024
Mattersville CO$255,780 President & Ceo $11,500 $11,216 2023
American Legion Post #144 MI$256,579 Office Manager $30,913 $31,524 2024
Utah Veterans Alliance UT$258,394 President $46,600 $47,121 2024
Joint Service Special Operations MT$258,941 Executive Di $40,000 $42,599 2024
Peoples Foundation For Connecting Community Military & Veterans CA$207,511 Secretary $1,500 $1,317 2023
Dtom 220 Foundation SD$207,188 Ceo, Chairman Of The Board $36,040 $40,458 2023
American Legion Morris Snuggerud Post Membership WI$207,094 3rd Vice Commandergm $51,688 $53,333 2024
Hevin WA$203,834 Vice-presden $25,750 $22,777 2024
Veterans Of Foreign Wars Department DE$266,283 Service Offi $60,000 $56,547 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL cost of living and 2023 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 IL 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 default46th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)43rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted47th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted44th

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 (Paula Carballido) 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 $28,680 is reasonable (approximately the 46th 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.