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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Henry Kapono Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 830567345
HI · NTEE A20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Alx Kawakami, Executive Director / CEO ($1,400) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 245 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 1st percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Alx Kawakami — reported title “Secretary”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

245 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 245 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$380 total compensation of comparable organizations → $310,871 $1,400
$8,87610th
$23,63025th
$44,967Median
$63,08575th
$79,86590th
$1,400This org · 1st
p10$8,876
p25$23,630
p50$44,967
p75$63,085
p90$79,865
$1,400

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 HI 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
Gloucester Writers Center Inc MA$211,029 Executive Director $43,680 $43,841 2023
Blue Mountains Projects Inc NY$210,903 Executive Director $88,500 $86,760 2024
Danville Business Alliance PA$210,384 Executive Director $52,500 $58,477 2023
Barn Opera Inc VT$210,088 Artistic Direct $29,792 $32,532 2024
The North Carolina Association For The NC$212,096 Executive Director $63,835 $69,713 2025
Society For Indo-american Arts TX$209,892 Executive Director $35,000 $39,105 2023
Friends Of Hauberg Civic Center Foundation IL$212,274 Executive Director $51,312 $56,345 2023
General Baker Institute MI$208,851 Executive Director $66,193 $76,312 2023
Irish Music School Of Chicago IL$208,516 President $67,770 $72,282 2024
The Genesis Collective Inc PA$207,690 Executive Dir. $45,833 $49,586 2024
Sound Affects Music CO$207,552 Executive Director $49,999 $53,549 2023
Virginia Hispanic Chamber Foundation VA$207,211 President & Ceo $30,000 $31,425 2024
Astoria Film Festival Inc NY$214,985 Founding Director $45,000 $44,115 2024
The Scandinavian Cultural Center And MA$206,477 Director $5,540 $5,401 2024
Merrill Arts Center MN$215,722 Executive Di $60,439 $64,790 2024
Deaf Performing Artists Network MI$206,250 President $44,000 $49,271 2024
Readingfilmfest PA$205,712 Executive Di $76,000 $82,224 2024
Art Pot SC$205,365 Executive Dir. $75,184 $85,094 2024
Old Post Office Museum And Art Center TX$205,262 Executive Dir. $26,658 $28,930 2024
Urasenke Foundation Of California CA$216,878 Ceo / Dir $69,840 $65,426 2024
Markeim Arts Center NJ$205,115 Vice President $6,400 $6,199 2024
Grow Mongolia Inc VA$217,657 President Ceo $68,500 $73,874 2023
Genryu Arts CA$217,841 President $54,000 $52,082 2023
Jookender Community Initiatives Inc MA$204,182 Ceo & Program Director $44,400 $42,170 2025
Siskiyou County Arts Council CA$203,220 Executive Dir. $48,146 $45,104 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to HI 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 HI 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 default1st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)1st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted4th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted1st

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 (Alx Kawakami) 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 245 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $1,400 is reasonable (approximately the 1st 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.