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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Chautauqua Opportunities For

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 810568035
NY · NTEE S30
FY ending 2024-10-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Diane Hewitt-johnson, Executive Director / CEO ($20,241) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 98 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 17th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Diane Hewitt-johnson — reported title “CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

98 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 98 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,515 total compensation of comparable organizations → $192,817 $20,241
$12,40010th
$34,47725th
$65,706Median
$87,02775th
$104,58390th
$20,241This org · 17th
p10$12,400
p25$34,477
p50$65,706
p75$87,027
p90$104,583
$20,241

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 NY 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
Blades Economic Development Corporation DE$190,730 Dockmaster $19,200 $20,805 2024
Keyah Advanced Rural Manufacturing Alliance NM$190,416 Chief Executive Officer $60,500 $72,011 2024
Foodworks Alliance Llc OH$195,468 Executive Di $34,678 $41,847 2023
Catalyst Community Capital Inc FL$195,564 Ceo / Board Member $11,002 $11,776 2023
Emancipation Economic Development Council TX$198,287 Executive Director $93,674 $103,697 2024
The Quilt Corporation Nfp Inc IL$183,028 President $11,700 $12,729 2024
Sustain Blaine Inc ID$182,961 Executive Director $110,000 $129,497 2024
Healthy Neighborhood Enterprises VA$200,019 Executive Director $65,337 $71,876 2023
Perris Community Economic Development Co CA$200,227 Chief Executive Director $27,674 $27,226 2023
Gallatin Valley Foundation For Economic MT$182,243 Executive Dir $12,546 $14,966 2024
Twin Cities Innovation Alliance MN$181,975 Founder Board Member $71,030 $75,669 2025
Lincoln County Economic Development Corporation CO$178,950 Executive Director $80,000 $84,892 2024
Crazy Love Africa CO$203,713 Executive Director $11,000 $12,017 2023
California Urban Partnership CA$178,480 President & Ceo $82,000 $80,673 2023
Montana West Economic Development MT$205,356 President/ceo $11,287 $13,464 2024
Southeastern Vermont Economic VT$176,768 Executive Director $4,455 $5,109 2023
Stanly County Convention And Vistiors Bureau Inc NC$206,625 Director $50,977 $56,788 2025
Retail Advancement Fund VA$175,000 President/ceo $21,211 $22,664 2024
Common Wealth Inc OH$208,039 Executive Director $34,698 $40,670 2024
Old Town Commercial Association MI$208,424 Executive Director $66,308 $75,740 2024
Northwest Wisconsin Economic WI$208,540 Fiscal Manager $44,333 $51,238 2024
Gateway South Innovation District MO$209,054 President $63,747 $76,926 2023
Circular Philadelphia PA$173,164 Board Member $38,556 $43,807 2023
Elwood Community Development Corporation IN$210,909 Executive Director $7,097 $8,282 2024
Downtown Hays Development Corporation KS$171,029 Executive Director $63,414 $78,054 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY 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 NY 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 default17th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)20th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted92nd

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 (Diane Hewitt-johnson) 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 98 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $20,241 is reasonable (approximately the 17th 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.