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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Washington West International Film Festival

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 800666039
VA · NTEE A31
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Bradford Russell, Executive Director / CEO ($27,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 44 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 30th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Bradford Russell — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

44 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 44 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,604 total compensation of comparable organizations → $195,198 $27,500
$9,24710th
$25,32325th
$38,438Median
$75,37875th
$93,76990th
$27,500This org · 30th
p10$9,247
p25$25,323
p50$38,438
p75$75,378
p90$93,769
$27,500

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
Beloit Intl Film Festival Inc WI$193,867 Executive Director $51,000 $53,581 2024
Film Florida Inc FL$188,257 Executive Di $70,735 $66,847 2024
Narrative Alchemy OR$200,000 Officer Manager $25,500 $23,822 2024
Cinestudio Inc CT$200,722 Executive Dir. $76,443 $74,232 2023
Frozen River Film Festival MN$179,789 Executive Director - Past $49,824 $48,249 2025
Worldwide Documentaries Inc NY$204,492 President $30,000 $28,076 2023
Artrageous IN$206,973 President $32,400 $34,371 2024
San Francisco Cinematheque CA$209,336 Exec. Dir./dir. $76,286 $66,266 2024
The New American Cinema Group Inc NY$212,460 Executive Director $34,849 $32,614 2023
Black Photographers Union CA$216,115 President $9,500 $8,496 2023
San Francisco Independent Film Festival CA$216,359 Director $40,000 $34,746 2024
The Lighthouse International Film NY$216,662 Director $8,000 $7,272 2024
Journeys In Film NM$164,417 Executive Director $32,375 $35,029 2024
Documentaries Seattle WA$162,200 President $45,000 $40,529 2024
Filmmakers United CA$221,196 President $44,780 $38,898 2024
Appian Media Resources Inc IN$225,777 President/se $22,291 $24,346 2023
Mezcla Media Collective Ltd IL$225,813 Executive Dir. $38,400 $37,977 2024
Hasan History Arts And Science Action VA$227,178 Co-president $11,000 $11,000 2023
Maiden Alley Cinema KY$153,899 Executive Director $19,385 $20,951 2024
Reel Earth Films AZ$230,403 Executive Director $26,143 $26,040 2023
Open Eye Pictures Inc CA$147,325 President $105,600 $91,730 2024
Capital City Film Festival MI$237,471 Executive Di $1,500 $1,604 2023
Monterey County Film Commission CA$238,200 Film Commissioner $92,898 $83,080 2023
Chicago Film Society IL$143,760 Executive Director $12,999 $12,856 2024
National Center For Jewish Film Inc MA$242,373 Co Director $95,000 $88,415 2023

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 default30th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)27th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted30th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted30th

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 (Bradford Russell) 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 44 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A31), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $27,500 is reasonable (approximately the 30th 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.