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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Blacksburg Partnership

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 043765864
VA · NTEE S30
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Ann Cassell, Executive Director / CEO ($110,738) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 169 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 82nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Ann Cassell — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

169 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 169 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$335 total compensation of comparable organizations → $252,717 $110,738
$16,10510th
$44,94825th
$76,198Median
$102,62475th
$135,95190th
$110,738This org · 82nd
p10$16,105
p25$44,948
p50$76,198
p75$102,624
p90$135,951
$110,738

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 VA 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
The Design Platform LA$307,980 Secretary $186,153 $218,565 2023
Virginia Black Chamber Of Commerce Foundation VA$307,711 President $105,883 $109,010 2023
South Central Dakota Regional Council ND$307,001 Executive Director $102,661 $116,681 2024
Chris White Community Development Corporation DE$310,665 Director $2,604 $2,641 2024
Richardson Center Corporation NY$311,633 President $164,168 $158,179 2023
Kanaka Economic Development Alliance HI$305,646 Executive Director $72,193 $68,918 2023
The Downtown Northampton Association Inc MA$305,416 Executive Director $51,000 $47,465 2024
South Charleston Convention & WV$304,135 Executive Di $53,560 $60,061 2024
Village MO$313,544 Founder $90,000 $98,725 2024
Challenge Detroit MI$314,019 Executive Director And C.o.o. $96,000 $102,624 2024
The Foundation For Community Betterment VA$302,924 Executive Director $44,710 $46,031 2023
High Plains Community NM$315,306 Manager $43,325 $47,017 2025
Spokane Independent Metro WA$315,469 Executive Director $82,176 $76,198 2024
Market Project Inc DC$301,703 Executive Director $47,168 $42,868 2024
Conifer Area Chamber Of Commerce CO$316,512 Executive Dir. $58,000 $56,115 2025
Dickinson County Economic KS$300,644 Executive Di $98,410 $110,110 2024
Harrisburg Economic Development SD$317,410 Executive Director $61,215 $72,037 2023
Taylorville Main Street Inc IL$299,108 Executive Director $9,000 $9,164 2024
Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation AZ$318,652 Executive Director Until 3/21/24 $40,135 $39,976 2024
Progress Lakeshore Inc WI$298,559 Executive Director $78,528 $84,938 2024
Warren County Local Economic IN$318,950 Former Execu $90,908 $102,221 2023
Sullivan County Land Bank NY$319,120 Chair $10,602 $10,215 2023
World Trade Center Utah Foundation UT$319,722 Ceo $13,093 $14,289 2023
Benton Economic Partnership Inc MN$297,127 Executive Dir. $134,525 $137,669 2024
Fox Oakland Theater Inc CA$293,046 President $138,422 $127,450 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VA 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 VA 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 default82nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)81st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted83rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted73rd

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 (Ann Cassell) 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 169 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $110,738 is reasonable (approximately the 82nd 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.