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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Will Work For Recovery

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 811965508
MN · NTEE F22
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Paul Bierch, Executive Director / CEO ($116,981) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 67 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 96th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

67 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 67 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$4,435 total compensation of comparable organizations → $284,091 $116,981
$15,91310th
$28,30325th
$57,989Median
$77,31375th
$96,44890th
$116,981This org · 96th
p10$15,913
p25$28,303
p50$57,989
p75$77,313
p90$96,448
$116,981

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 MN 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
Be The Bush Ministries TN$430,427 Executive Director $43,600 $45,050 2024
Sarasota Addiction Recovery Assistance Inc FL$428,021 President $42,000 $39,930 2023
Solus Christus Inc NC$422,724 Executive Di $62,000 $62,973 2024
Acacia Counseling Inc CO$451,559 President $57,595 $54,288 2024
Keene Serenity Center Inc NH$421,322 Executive Director $63,888 $57,989 2024
Addict Ii Athlete UT$418,827 Director And Officer $80,288 $80,776 2024
A Place Of Restoration LA$456,923 Director $59,085 $63,954 2024
Northwest Network Btlg Survivors Abuse0 WA$457,014 Executive Dir. $322,801 $284,091 2024
Alcoholics Anonymous Cleveland Dist OH$411,140 Secretary/tr $72,200 $77,391 2023
The Etheridge Foundation CA$463,479 Executive Director $96,500 $81,911 2024
Treatment Communities Of America DC$408,833 Executive Di $137,500 $118,608 2024
Victory Family Outreach Ministries TX$407,627 Trustee $24,339 $24,639 2023
Darp Inc OK$468,439 President $80,600 $84,994 2025
Liberation Institute HI$468,990 Clincial Director $41,215 $36,273 2024
Indian Neighborhood Club On MN$403,878 Executive Dir. $94,996 $92,271 2024
Aaron B Lackey Ministries GA$470,460 President $26,000 $26,457 2023
Kanawha Valley Fellowship Home Inc WV$480,927 Executive Director $58,738 $64,363 2023
Turning Point Evaluation Inc IA$483,893 Member $93,575 $100,716 2024
Alabaster House SC$489,645 Director $71,182 $72,998 2024
East Los Angeles Alcoholism Council CA$490,169 Chairman $14,600 $12,393 2024
Turning Point Recovery Residence TN$382,694 Secretary $60,700 $64,572 2023
Grants Pass Sobering Center Inc OR$370,463 Executive Director $17,105 $16,076 2023
Fundacion Creemos En Ti Corporation PR$504,204 Vicepresident $8,000 $7,770 2024
Potters House Substance Abuse Center AZ$507,627 Ceo $4,557 $4,435 2023
Alano Club Of Kent County MI$363,081 Executive Di $70,850 $71,885 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MN 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 MN 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 default96th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)96th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted96th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted91st

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 (Paul Bierch) 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 67 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (F22), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $116,981 is reasonable (approximately the 96th 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.