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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Alleghany Highlands Regional Library Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 540567000
VA · NTEE B71Z
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Lisa Sponaugle, Executive Director / CEO ($80,953) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 49 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 80th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

How comparable organizations were selected

49 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 49 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$5,516 total compensation of comparable organizations → $113,267 $80,953
$37,00310th
$57,75125th
$66,717Median
$78,95675th
$93,41690th
$80,953This org · 80th
p10$37,003
p25$57,751
p50$66,717
p75$78,956
p90$93,416
$80,953

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.

OrganizationStateTotal revenueTotal compSource
Richmond Memorial Library Association IncCT $453,159$97,978 990
Baldwin Borough Public LibraryPA $447,760$72,693 990
Boothbay Harbor Memorial LibraryME $485,324$77,321 990
Cross' Mills Public LibraryRI $439,211$78,956 990
Norwich Public Library AssociationVT $486,604$89,959 990
Middlesex County PublicVA $438,434$38,492 990
Palmyra Public LibraryPA $487,314$47,721 990
Maryland Library Association IncMD $487,497$76,977 990
Brainerd Memorial LibraryCT $504,052$92,680 990
Alpine Public Library Association IncTX $421,341$38,508 990
Southeastern Wisconsin InformationWI $421,183$5,516 990
Waterloo Library And Historical SocietyNY $418,514$59,545 990
Honey Brook Community LibraryPA $418,267$57,751 990
Wiscasset Public LibraryME $507,495$66,040 990
Malvern Public LibraryPA $416,962$79,451 990
Downingtown Library CompanyPA $512,194$65,952 990
Julia L Butterfield MemorialNY $512,964$67,244 990
Bradford Area Public LibraryPA $519,046$57,418 990
Tyson Library Association IncIN $405,192$61,785 990
Wisconsin Library Association IncWI $521,939$112,463 990
Kirkland Town LibraryNY $531,556$66,717 990
Glendora Public LibraryCA $393,944$71,717 990
Southern Lehigh Public LibraryPA $538,182$61,068 990
Friends Of The Chas County LibrarySC $380,695$79,852 990
Moon Township Public LibraryPA $545,799$77,100 990

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 default80th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)84th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted35th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted78th

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 (Lisa Sponaugle) 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 49 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B71), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $80,953 is reasonable (approximately the 80th 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). 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.