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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Milwaukee Area Workforce Funding

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 800793130
WI · NTEE J20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jerry Roberts, Executive Director / CEO ($66,040) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 10 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 80th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Jerry Roberts — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

10 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 10 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$5,556 total compensation of comparable organizations → $364,912 $66,040
$5,81610th
$10,12425th
$41,242Median
$63,13075th
$96,73390th
$66,040This org · 80th
p10$5,816
p25$10,124
p50$41,242
p75$63,130
p90$96,733
$66,040

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 WI 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
Life And Work Connections Inc MO$28,626 Executive Director $18,646 $18,910 2024
The Waterford Project OH$25,783 Executive Director $66,000 $66,935 2024
Goodwill Solutions Inc IA$30,917 Ceo $348,058 $364,912 2024
The Gear Foundation Inc TN$24,497 Program Director $62,000 $62,402 2024
Lenli Group Inc FL$24,384 President $6,000 $5,556 2023
Nebraska Bankers Association Foundation NE$36,109 President $63,162 $63,372 2025
Northeastern Lumber Manufacturers ME$36,808 Executive Director $6,096 $5,845 2024
Center For Economic Justice TX$37,431 Director $60,000 $57,469 2024
Svrc Industries Inc Foundation MI$38,589 Ceo $7,280 $7,195 2024
Hmong National Development MN$42,267 President & $25,680 $25,015 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WI 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 WI 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 default80th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)90th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted80th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted30th

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 (Jerry Roberts) 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 10 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (J), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $66,040 is reasonable (approximately the 80th 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.