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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 311629357
KY · NTEE A840
FY ending 2024-09-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Matthew Gibson, Executive Director / CEO ($10,580) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 1593 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 17th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

1,593 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 1,593 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$20 total compensation of comparable organizations → $266,711 $10,580
$5,24410th
$16,14725th
$33,415Median
$50,60575th
$66,64690th
$10,580This org · 17th
p10$5,244
p25$16,147
p50$33,415
p75$50,605
p90$66,646
$10,580

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 KY 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
Dance Wisconsin Inc WI$172,236 Director $5,200 $4,925 2025
Carpinteria Valley CA$172,123 Exec Dir & C $95,610 $76,845 2024
Northwest Arkansas African American Heritage Association Inc AR$172,408 President $23,000 $24,064 2024
Border Belt Reporting Inc NC$172,493 President $25,000 $24,044 2024
Texas Early Music Project TX$172,531 Artistic Director $24,550 $26,459 2021
Alamosa Chamber Of Commerce CO$171,865 Executive Dir. $54,590 $50,161 2023
The Ibma Foundation Inc NC$172,650 Executive Director $22,000 $21,158 2024
88 International Corp NY$171,603 President $23,650 $19,891 2024
Columbus Ohio Firefighters Museum Inc OH$171,440 Executive Director $33,000 $32,533 2024
Hammond Cultural Foundation Inc LA$171,408 Executive Di $47,515 $48,699 2024
Hutchinson Art Association Inc KS$173,110 Executive Director $31,431 $30,791 2025
Snap Cultural Events Inc FL$173,240 President $33,660 $30,301 2023
Indexical Inc CA$171,200 Executive Di $48,954 $39,346 2024
Zgd Inc NY$173,301 Director $1,000 $866 2023
The Coleman Chamber Music Association CA$171,101 Executive Director $85,273 $68,536 2024
Shelby County Historical Society IN$171,028 Executive Dir. $43,269 $42,471 2024
Indiana Ballet Theatre Nw Inc IN$173,520 Founding Artistic Director $14,100 $13,484 2025
Daisy Airgun Museum AR$173,604 Director $18,000 $19,389 2023
Women In The Arts Inc National Womens IL$170,731 President $2,800 $2,638 2023
Clarkston Conservatory Of Music Inc MI$173,865 Director $16,465 $15,818 2024
Cappies Of The National Capital Area VA$173,867 Program Directo $3,125 $2,808 2024
The Opera Foundation Inc NY$170,550 Exec. Director $12,000 $10,093 2024
Ohlook Performing Arts Center Inc TX$173,927 Educational And Creative Director $36,000 $33,519 2024
Friends Of The Museums Of Florida FL$173,934 Museum Direc $2,110 $1,899 2023
Wild Space Inc WI$173,970 Managing Dir $26,594 $25,851 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to KY 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 KY 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 default17th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)15th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted99th

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 (Matthew Gibson) 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 1593 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (A), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $10,580 is reasonable (approximately the 17th 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.