Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Michael Ward, Executive Director / CEO ($6,158) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 33 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 36th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range
Benchmarked executive: Michael Ward — reported title “MEMBER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.
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 NC cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.
| Organization | State | Revenue | Matched title | Comp (reported) | Comp (adjusted) | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar Grove Fire Department Inc | NC | $379,270 | Fire Chief | $67,083 | $65,158 | 2024 |
| Ridgecrest Volunteer Fire Dept Inc | NC | $368,905 | Chief | $9,034 | $9,034 | 2023 |
| Lanes Creek Volunteer Fire Department Inc | NC | $367,820 | Member-part Time Firefighter | $8,340 | $8,340 | 2023 |
| Leaksville Volunteer Fire Dept | NC | $402,463 | Secretary | $40,636 | $40,636 | 2023 |
| William R Davie Volunteer Fire Dept | NC | $349,487 | Chief | $71,374 | $67,539 | 2025 |
| Mineral Springs Volunteer Fire & | NC | $347,220 | Chief | $21,938 | $21,309 | 2024 |
| Drewry Volunteer Fire Department | NC | $344,348 | Captain | $9,165 | $8,902 | 2024 |
| Little River Fire Department Inc | NC | $422,636 | Vice President | $5,369 | $5,369 | 2023 |
| Creedmoor Volunteer Fire Department | NC | $426,446 | Assistant Fire Chief | $8,400 | $8,400 | 2023 |
| Lowell Volunteer Fire Dept | NC | $433,397 | Fire Chief | $22,921 | $22,263 | 2024 |
| Courtney Volunteer Fire Dept Inc | NC | $332,240 | Chief | $31,185 | $31,185 | 2023 |
| Lone Hickory Vol Fire Dept Inc | NC | $329,933 | Treas. | $1,800 | $1,748 | 2024 |
| Ronda Community Vol Fire Dept Inc | NC | $442,014 | Member | $7,800 | $7,576 | 2024 |
| Cooleemee Volunteer Fire Department | NC | $314,024 | President | $15,911 | $15,455 | 2024 |
| Mountain View Volunteer Fire | NC | $310,079 | Chief | $1,186 | $1,122 | 2025 |
| Fountain Rural Fire Association Inc | NC | $306,965 | President | $156 | $156 | 2023 |
| Parkton Fire And Rescue Inc | NC | $462,628 | Fire Chief | $5,760 | $5,595 | 2024 |
| Central Alexander Fire Department | NC | $463,632 | Chief/ex Off | $24,845 | $23,510 | 2025 |
| Penderlea Fire Department | NC | $300,834 | Assistant Chief | $175 | $170 | 2024 |
| Fire District 28 Inc | NC | $468,115 | Chief | $68,549 | $66,582 | 2024 |
| Cold Water Volunteer Fire Department | NC | $479,971 | President | $13,311 | $12,929 | 2024 |
| Holly Grove Fire Department Inc | NC | $495,181 | Vice President | $36,210 | $34,265 | 2025 |
| Grimesland Volunteer Fire Dept | NC | $269,468 | Treasurer | $2,400 | $2,271 | 2025 |
| Central Fire Department Of Davidson County Inc | NC | $505,044 | Secretary | $2,003 | $1,895 | 2025 |
| East Nash Volunteer Fire | NC | $511,286 | President | $14,400 | $13,626 | 2025 |
Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NC cost of living and 2023 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.
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 NC 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.
Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:
| Basis | Subject percentile |
|---|---|
| Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default | 36th |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 36th |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 36th |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 36th |
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.
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
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.