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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Bourn Free Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 934517911
NV · NTEE W30
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Catherine Bourn, Executive Director / CEO ($9,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 85 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 11th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Catherine Bourn — reported title “CFO TREASURE”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

85 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 85 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,317 total compensation of comparable organizations → $601,123 $9,000
$7,81310th
$17,02425th
$34,835Median
$61,79575th
$90,82390th
$9,000This org · 11th
p10$7,813
p25$17,024
p50$34,835
p75$61,795
p90$90,823
$9,000

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 NV 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
Paralyzed Veterans Of America North Cent SD$268,925 Executive Director - Left 08/2024 $86,077 $94,773 2024
Veterans Of Foreign Wars Department DE$266,283 Service Offi $60,000 $57,099 2025
Joint Service Special Operations MT$258,941 Executive Di $40,000 $43,016 2024
Utah Veterans Alliance UT$258,394 President $46,600 $47,581 2024
American Legion Post #144 MI$256,579 Office Manager $30,913 $31,832 2024
Mattersville CO$255,780 President & Ceo $11,500 $11,326 2023
New Hampshire Veterans Association NH$280,385 President $1,950 $1,796 2024
Veterans Of Foreign Wars Of The United PA$281,123 Treasurer/secretary $54,074 $53,797 2024
Veterans Of Foreign Wars Post 8794 OH$282,624 Chaplain $48,288 $49,708 2025
Patriot Military Family Foundation NC$250,832 Executive Director $19,500 $20,695 2023
American Legion Post 233 IL$250,649 Manager $43,705 $42,865 2024
The Heroes Project CA$285,068 Director $697,799 $601,123 2024
Amigo Air Sho Inc TX$250,000 Ceo $30,707 $30,644 2024
National Guard Association Of MN$289,665 Executive Di $25,200 $24,841 2024
The Navigation Center Fka Military SC$290,266 Executive Di $54,253 $56,465 2024
Enlisted Assoc Of Natl Guard O TN$244,860 Exec Asst $41,000 $42,995 2024
Watson & Black American Legion Post 126 PA$242,753 Manager $19,624 $20,100 2023
Armed Forces Services Center MN$240,858 Executive Di $48,677 $46,747 2025
Burn Pits 360 TX$239,581 Director $60,000 $59,877 2024
Dunham House Inc NE$239,278 Executive Director $110,000 $118,031 2024
Warrior Strong Inc PA$236,873 President $75,385 $74,998 2024
George N Althouse Memorial Association PA$299,782 Vice President $14,400 $14,326 2024
Lake County Honor Flight IL$234,502 Executive Director $28,680 $28,960 2023
Chief Warrant And Warrant IL$301,849 Executive Dir. $78,000 $78,761 2023
American Legion NY$301,875 Commander $2,100 $1,893 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NV 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 NV 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 default11th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)11th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted13th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted11th

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 (Catherine Bourn) 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 85 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (W30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $9,000 is reasonable (approximately the 11th 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.