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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Election Watch Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 920863109
WI · NTEE R40
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Peter Bernegger, Executive Director / CEO ($120,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 31 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 84th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Peter Bernegger — reported title “President”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

31 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 31 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$834 total compensation of comparable organizations → $249,643 $120,000
$10,02010th
$34,50925th
$65,988Median
$103,53675th
$126,52290th
$120,000This org · 84th
p10$10,020
p25$34,509
p50$65,988
p75$103,536
p90$126,522
$120,000

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
League Of Women Voters Of New Jersey NJ$502,550 Executive Director $12,066 $10,020 2024
Spread The Vote Inc CA$506,259 Executive Dir. $141,935 $113,988 2024
Soil & Soul Inc FL$510,037 Director $54,771 $47,854 2024
Capital Of Texas Media Foundation TX$513,329 Ceo $111,000 $106,318 2023
Memphis Interfaith Coalition For Action TN$518,052 Executive Director $23,431 $22,907 2024
American Values Coalition TX$469,525 Executive Dir. $100,000 $93,034 2024
Conservation Voters For Idaho Education ID$469,072 Executive Director $9,086 $9,255 2023
We Must Vote Inc MS$464,500 Director $70,000 $72,509 2024
Young Peoples Alliance Education Fund NC$456,822 Executive Director $60,883 $58,508 2024
League Of Women Voters Of California Education Fund CA$454,774 Executive Director $120,468 $96,748 2024
Florida Citizens Alliance Inc FL$453,419 Executive Di $50,000 $43,686 2024
The Hometown Outreach Fund Inc NY$430,400 Founder $14,485 $12,173 2024
Fight Voter Fraud Inc CT$557,956 President & $196,279 $171,160 2024
Govern For California CA$563,318 Chief Information Officer $200,000 $160,620 2024
Directorio Legislativo For The Americas FL$418,316 President $140,656 $126,522 2023
League Of Women Voters Of Pennsylvania PA$402,869 Executive Director (Thru Sept. 2023) $4,236 $3,928 2024
Oklahoma Voter Alliance Inc OK$591,452 Executive Director $37,500 $38,404 2024
Healthy Democracy Fund OR$591,695 Program Co-director $56,643 $50,367 2023
National Vote At Home Institute DC$605,991 Executive Director $153,927 $125,627 2024
Este Poder TX$380,909 Executive Dir. $70,929 $65,988 2024
Utah Ranked Choice Voting UT$373,563 Executive Dir. $102,810 $100,754 2023
League Of Women Voters Of OH$635,560 Executive Director $62,109 $62,989 2023
Coalition Porfor Texas TX$351,902 Executive Director $100,000 $93,034 2024
League Of Women Voters Of Colorado CO$335,166 Executive Director $83,573 $74,530 2024
The Ring Of Democracy Incorporated CA$334,565 President $37,025 $30,613 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 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 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 default84th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)77th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted84th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted74th

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 (Peter Bernegger) 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 31 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (R40), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $120,000 is reasonable (approximately the 84th 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.