Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Trudy Schafer, Executive Director / CEO ($5,400) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 125 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 2nd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations
Benchmarked executive: Trudy Schafer — reported title “VICE-PRESIDENT”, 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 CA 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Way Of South Central Illinois | IL | $278,145 | Executive Dir. | $61,005 | $69,456 | 2023 |
| United Way Of Nelson County | KY | $282,650 | Executive Director | $25,000 | $31,105 | 2023 |
| Demopolis City Schools Foundation | AL | $263,711 | Executive Di | $28,966 | $34,293 | 2025 |
| Becker County United Way | MN | $288,508 | Executive Director | $53,500 | $57,932 | 2025 |
| United Way Of Stanly County Inc | NC | $261,904 | Former Executive Director | $61,000 | $70,899 | 2024 |
| Lake Park Friends Ltd | WI | $261,249 | Administrator | $20,607 | $24,923 | 2023 |
| United Way Of Spencer | IA | $261,135 | Secretary | $10,000 | $11,999 | 2025 |
| United Way Of Effingham Cnty Inc | IL | $261,026 | Cpo | $40,389 | $43,513 | 2025 |
| United Way Of Jefferson County | OH | $290,431 | Executive Director | $44,500 | $53,016 | 2024 |
| River Valley United Way Inc | AR | $291,044 | Executive Director | $37,182 | $48,401 | 2023 |
| Lewis & Clark Foundation | MT | $259,068 | Executive Director | $61,500 | $74,571 | 2024 |
| C & Ws Rustic Hollow Shelter Inc | IA | $291,954 | President | $49,400 | $60,843 | 2024 |
| Griffin Spalding County United Way | GA | $258,287 | Executive Di | $34,179 | $39,799 | 2023 |
| United Way Of Johnson County Inc | TX | $257,893 | Exec Dir | $42,308 | $49,011 | 2023 |
| The Business Council Inc | WI | $256,993 | Director | $154,562 | $181,573 | 2024 |
| United Way Services Of Northern | OH | $256,029 | Executive Di | $27,951 | $33,300 | 2024 |
| United Way Of Virginia's Eastern | VA | $255,802 | Executive Di | $37,584 | $40,820 | 2024 |
| Healing Hearts Connection | MN | $255,664 | Executive Di | $57,048 | $65,281 | 2023 |
| Lowell Sun Charities Inc | MA | $255,574 | President | $36,000 | $35,451 | 2025 |
| Geneva Center Of Concern Inc | NY | $255,517 | Executive Director | $59,475 | $60,453 | 2024 |
| Quality Of Life Foundation Of Austin Inc | TX | $295,548 | President | $34,859 | $40,382 | 2023 |
| United Way Of Hastings | MN | $254,009 | Executive Director | $49,180 | $54,662 | 2024 |
| Esther Inc | WI | $297,311 | Executive Director | $1,154 | $1,356 | 2024 |
| United Way Of Windham County Inc | VT | $253,430 | Executive Dir. | $75,281 | $83,035 | 2025 |
| United Way Of Freeborn County Inc | MN | $297,884 | Executive Director | $52,000 | $57,797 | 2024 |
Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA 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 CA 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 | 2nd |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 2nd |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 11th |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 1st |
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.