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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Kanaka Economic Development Alliance

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 843551905
HI · NTEE S30
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Kelea Levy, Executive Director / CEO ($72,193) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 168 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 42nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

168 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 168 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$350 total compensation of comparable organizations → $264,724 $72,193
$16,72610th
$46,83825th
$79,255Median
$107,62675th
$142,63690th
$72,193This org · 42nd
p10$16,726
p25$46,838
p50$79,255
p75$107,626
p90$142,636
$72,193

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
The Downtown Northampton Association Inc MA$305,416 Executive Director $51,000 $49,720 2024
South Central Dakota Regional Council ND$307,001 Executive Director $102,661 $122,225 2024
South Charleston Convention & WV$304,135 Executive Di $53,560 $62,914 2024
Virginia Black Chamber Of Commerce Foundation VA$307,711 President $105,883 $114,190 2023
The Design Platform LA$307,980 Secretary $186,153 $228,949 2023
The Foundation For Community Betterment VA$302,924 Executive Director $44,710 $48,218 2023
The Blacksburg Partnership VA$308,696 President $110,738 $115,999 2024
Market Project Inc DC$301,703 Executive Director $47,168 $44,905 2024
Dickinson County Economic KS$300,644 Executive Di $98,410 $115,342 2024
Chris White Community Development Corporation DE$310,665 Director $2,604 $2,766 2024
Richardson Center Corporation NY$311,633 President $164,168 $165,694 2023
Taylorville Main Street Inc IL$299,108 Executive Director $9,000 $9,599 2024
Progress Lakeshore Inc WI$298,559 Executive Director $78,528 $88,974 2024
Village MO$313,544 Founder $90,000 $103,416 2024
Challenge Detroit MI$314,019 Executive Director And C.o.o. $96,000 $107,500 2024
Benton Economic Partnership Inc MN$297,127 Executive Dir. $134,525 $144,211 2024
High Plains Community NM$315,306 Manager $43,325 $49,251 2025
Spokane Independent Metro WA$315,469 Executive Director $82,176 $79,818 2024
Conifer Area Chamber Of Commerce CO$316,512 Executive Dir. $58,000 $58,781 2025
Harrisburg Economic Development SD$317,410 Executive Director $61,215 $75,459 2023
Fox Oakland Theater Inc CA$293,046 President $138,422 $133,505 2023
Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation AZ$318,652 Executive Director Until 3/21/24 $40,135 $41,876 2024
Warren County Local Economic IN$318,950 Former Execu $90,908 $107,078 2023
Sullivan County Land Bank NY$319,120 Chair $10,602 $10,701 2023
World Trade Center Utah Foundation UT$319,722 Ceo $13,093 $14,967 2023

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 default42nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)48th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted44th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted33rd

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 (Kelea Levy) 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 168 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $72,193 is reasonable (approximately the 42nd 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.