Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Creative Coast Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 582234133
GA · NTEE S30
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Nick Palumbo, Executive Director / CEO ($51,326) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 157 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 35th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Nick Palumbo — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (APRIL-PRESENT)”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

157 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 157 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$322 total compensation of comparable organizations → $242,678 $51,326
$13,07310th
$37,60825th
$71,697Median
$95,14075th
$129,13490th
$51,326This org · 35th
p10$13,073
p25$37,608
p50$71,697
p75$95,140
p90$129,134
$51,326

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 GA 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
Intown Concord NH$284,189 Executive Di $75,487 $69,322 2024
Adac Inc IN$287,218 Executive Di $41,154 $43,163 2024
Elizabeth Avenue Partnership Inc NJ$281,262 Executive Director $95,240 $87,068 2023
Washington Business Improvement Dis NJ$279,277 Executive Di $69,507 $63,543 2023
Ellensburg Downtown Association WA$289,361 Executive Director $75,405 $67,142 2024
Crawford County Economic Development Par IN$278,080 Executive Director $29,400 $31,745 2023
All Together Now Pennsylvania Inc PA$290,911 Co-director $32,500 $32,233 2024
Fox Oakland Theater Inc CA$293,046 President $138,422 $122,387 2023
Central Arkansas Council AR$275,000 Director $5,000 $5,755 2023
Renaissance Heights Foundation TX$274,703 Executive Dir. $105,401 $104,859 2024
Ypo Dfw TX$274,534 Chapter Manager $20,000 $19,384 2025
Fondren Renaissance Foundation MS$273,767 Executive Director $70,583 $78,183 2024
Ozaukee County Economic Development Corporation WI$273,374 Executive Director $36,000 $37,392 2024
Benton Economic Partnership Inc MN$297,127 Executive Dir. $134,525 $132,201 2024
Chicago Southland Economic IL$270,201 Executive Di $36,110 $35,307 2024
Progress Lakeshore Inc WI$298,559 Executive Director $78,528 $81,565 2024
Wentworth Economic Development Corp NH$269,573 Executive Director $71,400 $65,569 2024
Taylorville Main Street Inc IL$299,108 Executive Director $9,000 $8,800 2024
Marin Economic Forum CA$269,302 Ceo $188,542 $161,918 2024
Building 127 Ll Inc NY$268,876 Treasurer, Director $99,234 $89,181 2024
Rhea Economic And Tourism Council TN$268,307 Executive Director $52,625 $53,597 2025
Dickinson County Economic KS$300,644 Executive Di $98,410 $105,736 2024
Downtown Excelsior Partnership Inc MO$267,348 Executive Di $88,157 $92,863 2024
Noble County Convention And Visitor IN$267,279 Executive Di $55,640 $60,079 2023
Market Project Inc DC$301,703 Executive Director $47,168 $41,166 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to GA 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 GA 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 default35th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)36th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted38th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted25th

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 (Nick Palumbo) 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 157 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $51,326 is reasonable (approximately the 35th 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.