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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Advance Minnesota

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 831046844
MN · NTEE S30
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Emily Nesse, Executive Director / CEO ($38,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 179 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 21st percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Emily Nesse — reported title “BOARD MEMBER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

179 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 179 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$211 total compensation of comparable organizations → $246,945 $38,500
$16,30810th
$44,87725th
$77,928Median
$105,95875th
$140,95690th
$38,500This org · 21st
p10$16,308
p25$44,877
p50$77,928
p75$105,958
p90$140,956
$38,500

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
Strawberry Mansion Community Development Corporation PA$344,040 Executive Director $75,000 $81,123 2022
Dekalb County Economic Development IN$342,757 President/ce $93,947 $100,264 2024
Merchant Row Association Corporation DC$346,049 Former Executive Director $32,308 $28,692 2024
The Florida Council Of 100 FL$337,750 President $50,964 $48,453 2024
Main Street Wooster Inc OH$337,375 Executive Director $85,321 $91,455 2024
Monroe County Illinois Economic IL$350,348 Executive Dir. $69,879 $69,526 2024
Ohio Energy & Advanced Manufacturing OH$335,964 President $6,000 $6,431 2024
Boulder Chamber Foundation CO$351,613 President & Ceo $18,609 $18,592 2023
Ogunquit Chamber Of Commerce ME$335,876 Executive Di $90,500 $91,712 2024
Folsom Community Development Corporation CA$352,017 Ceo/president $115,040 $103,502 2023
Main Street Winter Haven Inc FL$352,397 President $70,063 $66,611 2024
Wyoming County Business Assistance NY$334,541 President/ceo $17,402 $16,384 2023
The Maryland Heights Convention & Visitors Bureau MO$334,098 Executive Director $115,915 $127,919 2023
Adams County Development Council WA$334,069 Executive Director $136,341 $127,184 2023
Idea Foundry PA$353,744 Director & Ceo $208,810 $216,962 2023
Amplify Equity Inc NY$354,839 Executive Director $84,483 $77,260 2024
Downtown Annapolis Partnership Inc MD$332,581 Executive Director $80,000 $77,928 2023
Preble County Development Partnership OH$332,329 Executive Director $123,147 $132,001 2024
Laredo Motor Carriers Association TX$359,339 President $70,000 $72,958 2023
Eastern Plains Economic Development MT$360,223 Executive Di $49,834 $54,364 2024
Rutland Makers Inc VT$362,903 Executive Di $79,423 $80,903 2024
Teamcalifornia Economic Development Corp CA$366,573 Ceo $119,477 $107,494 2023
Wakarusa Valley Development Inc KS$366,709 Executive Di $187,715 $205,235 2024
Mcdevco Inc WI$367,541 Executive Director $113,760 $120,236 2024
World Trade Center Utah Foundation UT$319,722 Ceo $13,093 $13,962 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MN 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 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 default21st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)21st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted25th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted14th

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 (Emily Nesse) 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 179 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $38,500 is reasonable (approximately the 21st 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.