Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Robert Nielsen, Executive Director / CEO ($5,990) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 71 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 24th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations
Benchmarked executive: Robert Nielsen — reported title “QUARTERMASTER”, 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 AK 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Veterans Of Foreign Wars Of The United States Dept Of Florida | FL | $179,435 | Quartermaster | $2,600 | $2,417 | 2025 |
| Us Army Warrant Officers Association | VA | $173,506 | Executive Director/ Editor | $62,398 | $61,210 | 2024 |
| Whitehall Lodge No 1491 Bpoe | NY | $180,612 | Secretary | $1,500 | $1,341 | 2025 |
| Veterans Of Foreign Wars 9566vfw-mass | MA | $180,705 | Past Quartermaster | $4,410 | $4,026 | 2024 |
| American Legion Post 0094 Charles Pratt Post | IN | $182,068 | Bar Gaming Manager | $38,055 | $39,720 | 2025 |
| Hero Expeditions Incorporated | CO | $170,678 | Executive Director | $36,000 | $35,070 | 2024 |
| U S Veterans Post 104 Corporation | FL | $170,207 | Quartermaster | $2,000 | $1,965 | 2023 |
| Veterans Education Project | VA | $170,000 | Executive Director | $30,000 | $29,428 | 2024 |
| Veterans Of Foreign Wars Post 2832 Pike Memorial | OH | $169,487 | Quartermaster | $1,456 | $1,566 | 2024 |
| American Patriot Service Corporatio | UT | $184,349 | President | $11,999 | $12,477 | 2024 |
| Fleet Reserve Club Of Jax Fl Inc | FL | $166,714 | Manager | $46,375 | $43,120 | 2025 |
| Pin-ups For Vets | CA | $188,710 | President | $107,529 | $94,334 | 2024 |
| Watsontown American Legion Club Inc | PA | $189,157 | Finance Officer | $4,050 | $4,103 | 2024 |
| Veterans Of Foreign War Auxiliary Department Of Ka | KS | $163,979 | Secretary Jr Vic President | $6,900 | $7,378 | 2025 |
| Spencer-ralston Post No 1254 | KS | $163,557 | Quatermaster | $750 | $802 | 2025 |
| Walter Jones Post 2876 Veterans Of | IL | $191,118 | Jr Vice Comm | $10,830 | $10,817 | 2024 |
| In Honor Of Our Troops | MD | $159,452 | Chairman President | $26,000 | $24,695 | 2024 |
| Roa Standing Together For America's | DC | $159,298 | Executive Director | $18,644 | $17,113 | 2023 |
| Vietnam Veterans Of America #317 | MO | $195,555 | President | $34,182 | $35,834 | 2025 |
| Kirk Casey Post No 366 Of The American Legion Depa | NY | $157,640 | 1st Vice Commander | $35,500 | $33,553 | 2023 |
| American Legion Post 204 Harold N Keith | MA | $196,764 | Finance Officer | $7,200 | $6,573 | 2024 |
| North Shore Veterans Counseling | MA | $197,898 | Executive Di | $53,000 | $48,386 | 2024 |
| The Jewish War Veterans Of The United | DC | $154,544 | National Executive Director | $3,021 | $2,773 | 2023 |
| Veterans Of Foreign Wars Of The United | CA | $199,976 | Treasurer | $42,000 | $36,846 | 2024 |
| Lafayette War Veterans | CA | $201,261 | Center Director | $96,658 | $87,301 | 2023 |
Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AK 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 AK 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 | 24th |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 24th |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 27th |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 21st |
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.