Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Fire Adapted Colorado

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 475539221
CO · NTEE M24
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Rebecca Samulski, Executive Director / CEO ($67,284) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 188 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 91st percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

188 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 188 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$143 total compensation of comparable organizations → $133,977 $67,284
$92910th
$2,44725th
$7,150Median
$24,72175th
$51,61890th
$67,284This org · 91st
p10$929
p25$2,447
p50$7,150
p75$24,721
p90$51,618
$67,284

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 CO 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
Waseca Firefighter's Relief Association MN$476,221 President $275 $283 2024
Cold Water Volunteer Fire Department NC$479,971 President $13,311 $14,344 2024
Lafayette Community Fire Protection MN$480,602 Treasurer $600 $603 2025
Exeter Volunteer Fire Department #1 Inc RI$474,368 Chief $21,586 $21,586 2024
Wicksburg Volunteer Fire & Rescue AL$473,763 Chief $45,001 $50,701 2024
Elk River Fire Department Relief MN$483,667 President (Thru 12/01/2024) $416 $429 2024
Glenn Dale Fire Association Inc MD$484,409 Treasurer $22,830 $22,259 2024
Mansfield Hose Company PA$469,849 Treasurer $900 $964 2023
Fire District 28 Inc NC$468,115 Chief $68,549 $73,867 2024
Humboldt Fire Department Inc SD$467,960 Chief $120 $143 2023
Lamott Fire Company No 1 PA$467,417 Trustee $2,126 $2,211 2024
Haverford Township Volunteer PA$488,912 Treasurer $4,000 $4,160 2024
Kohlsville Volunteer Fire Co WI$465,328 Chief $650 $708 2024
Blossburg Volunteer Fire Department PA$491,559 Treasurer $2,625 $2,811 2023
Stafford Fire Department Inc NY$464,010 Secretary $900 $848 2024
Central Alexander Fire Department NC$463,632 Chief/ex Off $24,845 $26,083 2025
Burnet Volunteer Fire Department TX$492,405 Fire Chief $50,000 $52,160 2024
The North Stonington Volunteer Fire CT$463,049 Chief $10,769 $10,841 2023
Parkton Fire And Rescue Inc NC$462,628 Fire Chief $5,760 $6,207 2024
Holly Grove Fire Department Inc NC$495,181 Vice President $36,210 $38,014 2025
Belmont Hills Fire Company PA$498,280 Financial Se $4,500 $4,680 2024
Central Fire Department Of Davidson County Inc NC$505,044 Secretary $2,003 $2,102 2025
Lodi Volunteer Ambulance Rescue Squad Inc NJ$449,326 Secretary $6,200 $5,943 2023
Springboro Volunteer Fire PA$506,579 President $3,840 $3,994 2024
Wilderness Volunteer Fire Department Inc WV$448,811 Chairman $10,932 $12,709 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CO 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 CO 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 default91st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)92nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted91st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted90th

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 (Rebecca Samulski) 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 188 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (M24), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $67,284 is reasonable (approximately the 91st 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.