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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Downtown Community Partnership

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 464472309
ND · NTEE S41
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Cynthia Graffeo, Executive Director / CEO ($69,556) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 531 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 34th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

531 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 531 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $375,862 $69,556
$29,22910th
$56,50325th
$84,428Median
$126,48075th
$173,53890th
$69,556This org · 34th
p10$29,229
p25$56,503
p50$84,428
p75$126,480
p90$173,538
$69,556

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 ND 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
Alliance For Dade Inc GA$480,435 President And Ceo $70,875 $63,076 2024
Fiscal Partners Inc MA$483,314 President & Executive Dire $173,094 $137,672 2024
Connectup Institute MN$479,058 President $88,833 $79,986 2023
Greater Piedmont Area Association VA$485,291 Executive Of $142,534 $125,407 2023
Workforce Fairness Institute Inc VA$478,179 Secretary, Director $10,000 $8,798 2023
Wisconsin High School Football WI$485,679 Executive Director $55,000 $49,529 2025
Signature User Group Inc FL$477,920 Executive Director $62,750 $52,176 2024
Arkansas Ready Mixed Concrete Association Inc AR$477,664 Exec Director $96,164 $93,206 2025
Carolinas Chapter - Cmaa NC$477,616 Member Services Manager $70,355 $64,343 2024
Visit Newberg OR$486,604 Executive Di $100,577 $82,669 2024
Mid South Sign Association Inc TN$476,999 Executive Director $67,714 $64,859 2023
Medical Staff Of Childrens Hospital & CA$487,290 President $35,000 $26,750 2024
Precastprestressed Con Ins Ne NY$476,290 Key Employee $168,258 $131,103 2025
Juniata River Valley Visitors Bureau PA$475,732 Executive Director $54,567 $48,163 2024
The Concrete Industry Board Inc NY$488,205 Executive Director $66,615 $54,852 2023
Norfolk Area Visitors Bureau NE$488,924 Executive Di $79,596 $75,773 2024
Homebuilders Association Of Jackson Inc MS$488,928 Executive Vice President $99,810 $98,390 2024
Mass Funeral Directors Assoc Inc MA$474,522 Exec Director $63,158 $48,939 2025
North Texas Gay Lesbian Bisexual TX$489,096 President/ceo $92,672 $82,049 2024
West Slope Colorado Oil & Gas CO$489,396 Executive Director $175,345 $148,815 2024
Association Of Educational Purchasing Agencies NM$474,160 Exec Director $97,000 $95,069 2023
Committee Of Chief Risk Officers Inc TX$473,946 Director $259,448 $236,493 2023
Ashland Alliance Corporation KY$489,844 President $128,210 $125,518 2023
Crew Charlotte Inc NC$473,737 Executive Director $104,044 $97,963 2023
Aerospace Futures Alliance Of Washington WA$489,873 Executive Director (Thru 12/23) $138,128 $112,690 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to ND 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 ND 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 default34th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)28th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted31st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted30th

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 (Cynthia Graffeo) 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 531 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S41), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $69,556 is reasonable (approximately the 34th 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.