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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Greater Piedmont Area Association

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 541743267
VA · NTEE S41
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Debbie W Werling, Executive Director / CEO ($142,534) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 19 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 68th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Debbie W Werling — reported title “EXECUTIVE OF”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

19 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 19 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$3,885 total compensation of comparable organizations → $427,193 $142,534
$24,39610th
$43,75625th
$95,958Median
$152,08875th
$313,92190th
$142,534This org · 68th
p10$24,396
p25$43,756
p50$95,958
p75$152,088
p90$313,921
$142,534

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
Workforce Fairness Institute Inc VA$478,179 Secretary, Director $10,000 $10,000 2023
Armed Forces Marketing Council VA$470,536 President $351,695 $341,605 2024
Kantara Initiative Inc VA$570,385 Executive Director $145,109 $145,109 2023
Martinsville-henry County Chamber Of Commerce Inc VA$394,508 President $48,659 $48,659 2023
Virginia Hispanic Chamber Of Commerce VA$586,222 President $95,958 $95,958 2023
The Management Round Table VA$380,750 Interim Executive Director $32,883 $31,940 2024
Air Medical Operators Association VA$590,000 Executive Director $188,403 $182,998 2024
Greater Augusta Regional Chamber Of VA$380,216 President/ce $86,800 $84,310 2024
Industrial Packaging Alliance Of North VA$369,739 President And Ceo $163,765 $159,067 2024
Association Of State Criminal VA$359,801 Executive Dir. $40,000 $38,852 2024
National Home Delivery Association VA$613,735 Executive Director $97,475 $94,678 2024
The Greater Richmond Chamber Foundation VA$335,163 Chamber Ceo $439,811 $427,193 2024
Virginia Loggers Association Inc VA$334,889 Executive Di $125,000 $121,414 2024
Powhatan Chamber Of Commerce VA$326,450 Executive Director $65,000 $63,135 2024
Eastern Shore Of Virginia Tourism VA$646,797 Destination $29,585 $27,995 2025
Federal Forest Resource Coalition VA$654,970 Executive Director $307,000 $307,000 2023
Advocating For Seniors VA$716,335 Chair $4,000 $3,885 2024
Downtown Hampton Development Partnership VA$721,455 Executive Director $127,049 $123,404 2024
Shenandoah Valley Partnership Inc VA$724,205 Executive Director $146,537 $142,333 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 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 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 default68th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)63rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted68th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted68th

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 (Debbie W Werling) 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 19 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S41) + VA + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $142,534 is reasonable (approximately the 68th 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.