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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Whatcom Business Alliance

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 454984520
WA · NTEE S41
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 13, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Barbara Chase, Executive Director / CEO ($124,327) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 540 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 63rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Barbara Chase — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

540 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 540 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $474,315 $124,327
$36,78910th
$69,91625th
$103,557Median
$152,06975th
$213,04690th
$124,327This org · 63rd
p10$36,789
p25$69,916
p50$103,557
p75$152,069
p90$213,046
$124,327

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 WA 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
Grand County Board Of Realtors CO$459,320 Executive Dir. $92,340 $98,897 2024
Nevada Rural Electric Association NV$459,040 Executive Director $164,976 $184,705 2024
Dayton Agricultural & Mech Assoc PA$460,350 President $1,680 $1,871 2024
American Concrete Pavement NY$458,268 Executive Di $95,582 $96,470 2024
Sister Bay Advancement Association WI$457,953 Comm Coordin $53,131 $61,977 2024
League City Chamber Of Commerce TX$461,383 President/ce $43,077 $49,550 2023
Oregon Society Of Medical Oncology WA$457,317 Exec V. Pres $162,700 $162,700 2024
Illinois Solar Energy Association IL$462,254 Executive Director $119,000 $130,671 2024
Greater Ocean City Golf Association MD$462,314 Managing Director $90,000 $93,981 2024
Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber Of GA$462,685 President & Ceo $124,200 $139,484 2024
Kelso Longview Chamber Of Commerce WA$462,716 Ceo $79,740 $82,095 2023
Cfa Society Of Minnesota MN$462,913 Executive Director $106,721 $121,262 2023
Texas Grazing Land Coalition Inc TX$455,646 Executive Director $76,500 $85,472 2024
Trebic Inc NC$463,665 Director/president $91,705 $105,836 2024
Ceo Roundtables Of Minnesota Inc MN$464,858 Ceo & President $150,000 $170,439 2023
The Real Estate Valuation Advocacy DC$465,210 Secretary $223,850 $219,405 2024
Edc Team Jefferson WA$453,507 Executive Director $97,177 $100,047 2023
New Mexico Angels Inc NM$465,415 Chairman $12,844 $15,430 2024
Gage Area Growth Enterprise NE$465,745 Executive Di $92,211 $110,776 2024
Louisiana Casino Association Inc LA$452,921 Executive Director $291,157 $358,093 2024
Broussard Chamber Of Commerce LA$466,085 Ceo $76,800 $94,456 2024
California Wind Energy Association CA$452,468 Exec Dir/sec $124,235 $119,822 2024
International Geosynthetics Society TX$452,273 Executive Director $55,571 $62,089 2024
American Business Council Kuwait $466,769 Executive Director $54,539 $56,150 2023
Transportation Marketing & Sales Associa OH$451,754 Executive Dir. $100,008 $118,310 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WA 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 WA 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 default63rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)67th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted58th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted59th

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 (Barbara Chase) 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 13, 2026, comparing compensation against 540 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S41), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $124,327 is reasonable (approximately the 63rd 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 13, 2026.