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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Bellevue Fire Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 853767595
WA · NTEE M11
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Laura Mathers, Executive Director / CEO ($118,772) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 233 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: Laura Mathers — reported title “President and CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

233 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 233 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2 total compensation of comparable organizations → $267,078 $118,772
$51110th
$1,16325th
$6,056Median
$40,27575th
$77,32090th
$118,772This org · 96th
p10$511
p25$1,163
p50$6,056
p75$40,275
p90$77,320
$118,772

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 WA 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
Revved Up Kids Inc GA$168,897 Executive Di $29,608 $32,298 2024
Indian Mills Volunteer Fire Company NJ$167,729 President $717 $715 2023
Cottage Grove Vol Fire Department WI$169,568 President $4,030 $4,701 2023
Gale Hose Co No 1 Inc PA$167,151 Billing/privacy Officer & Chief 10-70 $6,000 $6,683 2023
Granville Rural Fire Department NC$170,290 Board Member $1,215 $1,402 2023
Bowmanstown Volunteer Fire Company PA$170,750 Treasurer $7,800 $8,438 2024
Puyallup Extrication Team Inc WA$165,663 Executive Direc $38,300 $37,201 2024
Whitehall Volunteer Fire Company Inc NY$165,656 Recording Secretary Admin Asst $25,383 $25,619 2023
Goshen Volunteer Fire Department NC$165,526 President $786 $881 2024
Silver Creek Volunteer Fire Department WI$171,764 President $1,525 $1,728 2024
Spencerport Volunteer Firemens Assoc Inc NY$164,917 President $2,000 $2,019 2023
Fire Services Training Institute CA$172,244 Executive Dir. $20,000 $18,736 2024
Avon Firemen's Relief Association MN$164,694 President $353 $379 2024
Orange County Rural Vfd District 1 IN$172,578 Fire Chief $9,600 $11,308 2023
Bradley Gardens Volunteer Fire Company Inc NJ$172,869 Secretary $600 $581 2024
Accessos CA$164,087 Executive Director $98,149 $91,946 2024
Bikehouston Inc TX$173,613 Executive Director $135,721 $147,288 2024
Springs Fire Department Inc NY$174,314 Chief $1,500 $1,514 2023
The National Institute For Hometown KY$174,362 Ceo $229,139 $267,078 2024
Ua Charitable Fund Trust MD$174,618 Trustee $154,691 $156,899 2024
Tri-state Fire School Association Inc WV$162,176 Director $25,928 $31,356 2023
Grand Mound Volunteer Fire Company IA$175,138 1st Asst Chi $1,250 $1,529 2023
Mora Fire Department Relief MN$175,382 Treasurer $900 $965 2024
Carlton Complex Long Term Recovery Group WA$175,703 Executive Director $84,335 $81,915 2024
The Elevated Studio Inc NY$161,388 Executive Director/president $35,600 $35,931 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WA 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 WA 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), adjusted98th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted94th

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 (Laura Mathers) 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 233 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (M), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $118,772 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.