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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

City Of Fairfax Band Association Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 541651484
VA · NTEE B82
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Nicole Powlson, Executive Director / CEO ($30,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 177 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 39th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Nicole Powlson — reported title “MANAGING DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

177 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 177 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$528 total compensation of comparable organizations → $209,504 $30,000
$7,00110th
$16,39525th
$40,578Median
$66,74375th
$95,37190th
$30,000This org · 39th
p10$7,001
p25$16,395
p50$40,578
p75$66,743
p90$95,371
$30,000

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 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
Jacquie Hirsch For All Foundation NY$201,312 Treasurer $6,968 $6,892 2023
Voices Boston Inc MA$202,160 Executive Dir. $68,316 $67,191 2023
Arizona Food & Drug Industry Founda AZ$197,743 President $11,716 $11,978 2024
Tuskegee Airmen Scholarship Foundation CA$202,390 Executive Director $114,109 $104,749 2024
Missouri Junior Golf Scholarship MO$202,899 Chairperson $31,985 $36,014 2024
Carh Scholarship Fund VA$196,988 Secretary/ Executive Director $25,652 $26,331 2024
Plumbers Local Union No 690 PA$196,672 Co-chairman $151,390 $160,496 2024
New South Foundation Inc GA$196,161 President $32,970 $35,242 2024
Harford County Education Foundation Inc MD$204,365 President $65,833 $63,744 2025
Tara Sawyer Foundation TX$205,242 Executive Director $75,000 $79,756 2024
Graham County Electric Cooperative AZ$205,368 President $40,546 $42,678 2023
Students Without Mothers Inc GA$194,123 Executive Dir. $66,600 $71,190 2024
Joey's Dream Builders TX$193,597 Executive Director $40,000 $42,536 2024
Apro Charitable Foundation TX$206,884 Ceo (01/23) $2,863 $3,045 2024
The North Carolina Albert Schweitzer NC$206,932 Executive Dir. $89,682 $95,972 2025
Loan Repayment Assistance Program Of MN$192,896 Executive Director $67,508 $73,009 2023
Pratyush Sinha Foundation PA$192,024 Co-executive Director $24,418 $25,887 2024
Orion Military Scholarship Fund Inc RI$208,731 Executive Dir. $13,002 $13,254 2024
The Worth & Dot Howard Foundation AZ$190,754 President $55,000 $57,893 2023
Iuoe Local 94 94a Scholarship Fund NY$209,208 Trustee $103,317 $99,250 2024
Montana State Elks Association MT$190,394 Treasurer $2,000 $2,233 2025
Truckload Carriers Association VA$190,313 President $44,277 $45,448 2024
Police Athletic League Of Philadelphia PA$189,686 Executive Director Thru 11/23 $2,185 $2,317 2024
Grandview School District MO$210,331 Executive Di $30,176 $33,977 2024
W20 Foundation NY$210,404 Vice President $100,000 $96,064 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 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 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 default39th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)41st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted60th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted26th

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 (Nicole Powlson) 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 177 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B82), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $30,000 is reasonable (approximately the 39th 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.