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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Create Appalachia

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 471863604
TN · NTEE W99
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Katie Hoffman, Executive Director / CEO ($51,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 92 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 84th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

92 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 92 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$51 total compensation of comparable organizations → $285,728 $51,000
$2,32910th
$5,76125th
$16,642Median
$39,74975th
$69,38890th
$51,000This org · 84th
p10$2,329
p25$5,761
p50$16,642
p75$39,749
p90$69,388
$51,000

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 TN 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
National Opportunity Project IL$100,000 President/director $289,084 $285,728 2023
The White Rainbow Project CA$99,724 Executive Director $44,468 $38,604 2023
Waucoma Community Development Group IA$99,340 Secretary/tr $10,000 $11,008 2023
Feast Of Crispian WI$98,596 President & Managing Director $28,125 $29,530 2023
Bin Sba Loan WA$98,556 President/ceo $17,743 $15,512 2024
Bucks County Center For The PA$102,255 Chairman $15,500 $15,094 2024
Onecommunity OH$98,183 Ceo $13,574 $14,039 2024
Kiester Legion Post 454 MN$97,728 Commander $4,716 $4,551 2024
Center Action Fund DC$97,707 Secretary $20,503 $17,569 2024
American Legion Post 333 IN$97,240 Service Officer $4,360 $4,490 2024
St Cloud Standdown Inc MN$96,010 Director $2,400 $2,316 2024
Women In Global Health Inc CA$93,956 Former Executive Director $167,500 $141,241 2024
Ellicottville Memorial Post 65 NY$107,216 Commander $11,349 $10,310 2023
Cecil Field Powmia Memorial Inc FL$107,335 Director $10,408 $9,548 2024
Sanford Underground Research SD$93,207 Foundation D $6,361 $6,855 2024
Young Marines National Foundation FL$93,099 Executive Director $30,000 $28,334 2023
Lebaron Post Home Association PA$107,789 Director $4,700 $4,712 2023
Kim Center For Social Balance CA$92,740 Exec Dir $80,000 $67,458 2024
Delaware Family Policy Council Inc DE$108,525 President & Executive Director $35,041 $33,505 2024
Servicemen's Club Inc MN$108,950 Club Manager $40,062 $39,799 2023
Boreal Community Media MN$91,570 Executive Di $18,961 $18,837 2023
American Legion Post 12 VT$109,920 Finance Offi $15,000 $14,744 2024
Juice Orange Mound TN$89,709 Executive Director $85,000 $93,509 2022
Townsend Community Access And Media Inc MA$89,371 Executive Director $61,339 $55,416 2023
Water Resources Association Of The PA$111,947 Executive Dir. $86,869 $87,093 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TN cost of living and 2025 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 TN 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 default84th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)82nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted87th
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 (Katie Hoffman) 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 92 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (W), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $51,000 is reasonable (approximately the 84th 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.