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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Design Platform

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 830787847
LA · NTEE S30
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Charles Buckholtz, Executive Director / CEO ($186,153) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 170 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 99th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Charles Buckholtz — 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

170 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 170 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$285 total compensation of comparable organizations → $215,240 $186,153
$13,83310th
$38,46825th
$64,440Median
$87,40375th
$115,09190th
$186,153This org · 99th
p10$13,833
p25$38,468
p50$64,440
p75$87,403
p90$115,091
$186,153

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 LA 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
Virginia Black Chamber Of Commerce Foundation VA$307,711 President $105,883 $92,845 2023
The Blacksburg Partnership VA$308,696 President $110,738 $94,316 2024
South Central Dakota Regional Council ND$307,001 Executive Director $102,661 $99,378 2024
Kanaka Economic Development Alliance HI$305,646 Executive Director $72,193 $58,698 2023
The Downtown Northampton Association Inc MA$305,416 Executive Director $51,000 $40,426 2024
Chris White Community Development Corporation DE$310,665 Director $2,604 $2,249 2024
Richardson Center Corporation NY$311,633 President $164,168 $134,722 2023
South Charleston Convention & WV$304,135 Executive Di $53,560 $51,154 2024
The Foundation For Community Betterment VA$302,924 Executive Director $44,710 $39,204 2023
Village MO$313,544 Founder $90,000 $84,085 2024
Challenge Detroit MI$314,019 Executive Director And C.o.o. $96,000 $87,406 2024
Market Project Inc DC$301,703 Executive Director $47,168 $36,511 2024
High Plains Community NM$315,306 Manager $43,325 $40,045 2025
Dickinson County Economic KS$300,644 Executive Di $98,410 $93,781 2024
Spokane Independent Metro WA$315,469 Executive Director $82,176 $64,898 2024
Conifer Area Chamber Of Commerce CO$316,512 Executive Dir. $58,000 $47,793 2025
Taylorville Main Street Inc IL$299,108 Executive Director $9,000 $7,805 2024
Progress Lakeshore Inc WI$298,559 Executive Director $78,528 $72,342 2024
Harrisburg Economic Development SD$317,410 Executive Director $61,215 $61,354 2023
Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation AZ$318,652 Executive Director Until 3/21/24 $40,135 $34,048 2024
Benton Economic Partnership Inc MN$297,127 Executive Dir. $134,525 $117,254 2024
Warren County Local Economic IN$318,950 Former Execu $90,908 $87,063 2023
Sullivan County Land Bank NY$319,120 Chair $10,602 $8,700 2023
World Trade Center Utah Foundation UT$319,722 Ceo $13,093 $12,170 2023
Fox Oakland Theater Inc CA$293,046 President $138,422 $108,549 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to LA 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 LA 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 default99th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)98th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted98th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted94th

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 (Charles Buckholtz) 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 170 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $186,153 is reasonable (approximately the 99th 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.