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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Alleghany Highlands

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 541241226
VA · NTEE A400
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Cornelia Baker, Executive Director / CEO ($36,790) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 25 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 56th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Cornelia Baker — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

25 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 25 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,452 total compensation of comparable organizations → $102,624 $36,790
$9,74110th
$19,00625th
$34,261Median
$59,29175th
$81,35190th
$36,790This org · 56th
p10$9,741
p25$19,006
p50$34,261
p75$59,291
p90$81,351
$36,790

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.

OrganizationStateRevenueMatched titleComp
(reported)
Comp
(adjusted)
FY
Name Publications Inc FL$143,624 President $6,000 $5,838 2024
Dane Arts Mural Arts Inc WI$143,946 Executive Director $61,526 $68,514 2023
Michigan Fiber Festival Inc MI$142,147 Festival Coordinator $17,779 $19,006 2024
The Heidelberg Project MI$151,440 Executive Di $96,000 $102,624 2024
Waterworks Art Museum MT$152,803 Executive Di $31,091 $35,735 2023
Photo Art & Science Foundation MO$158,544 Executive Director $52,500 $59,291 2023
The Society Of Arts And Crafts MA$163,371 Executive Di $95,762 $86,827 2025
Copper Country Community Arts Council MI$122,447 Executive Director $43,986 $48,410 2023
Carmel Gallery Alliance CA$165,024 Chief Executive Officer $15,932 $14,248 2024
Blair Center For The Arts Foundation KS$121,044 Director $28,995 $33,400 2023
Through The Flower Corporation NM$116,522 Executive Di $35,000 $38,988 2024
Public Trust PA$169,980 Executive Director And Ex Officio $25,000 $25,821 2024
Hutchinson Art Association Inc KS$173,110 Executive Director $31,431 $34,261 2025
Studio Gallery Association Inc DC$174,671 Executive Director $33,666 $30,597 2024
Seattle Architectural Foundation WA$176,098 Executive Director $78,875 $73,137 2024
Art At A Time Like This Inc NY$105,980 President $9,250 $8,912 2023
Village Art Club Inc AR$182,528 Director, Gallery Facilita $2,106 $2,452 2024
Espanola Valley Fiber Arts Center NM$186,150 Retail Manag $44,386 $49,443 2024
Riverside Arts Center IL$186,596 Frmr Exec Dir $31,706 $33,237 2023
Indy Convergence Inc IN$187,607 Managing Director $12,445 $13,994 2023
Wartists Inc VA$189,850 President $29,000 $29,000 2024
Yeiser Art Center Inc KY$198,758 Exec Director $42,921 $49,169 2023
Japanese Embroidery Center Inc GA$201,901 Bd Of Directors $59,629 $62,096 2024
Project Snap MI$205,925 Ceo $95,784 $102,393 2024
Nature's Best Photography Fund Inc VA$213,600 Director / President $10,984 $10,984 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VA 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 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 default56th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)60th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted56th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted56th

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 (Cornelia Baker) 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 25 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A40), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $36,790 is reasonable (approximately the 56th 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.