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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Hbcu First Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 843831738
NY · NTEE A23
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Courtney Gray, Executive Director / CEO ($120,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 26 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 96th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

26 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 26 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$7,416 total compensation of comparable organizations → $140,675 $120,000
$18,14910th
$30,62125th
$59,857Median
$73,45075th
$95,18390th
$120,000This org · 96th
p10$18,149
p25$30,621
p50$59,857
p75$73,450
p90$95,183
$120,000

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
100 People Foundation Inc NY$466,693 President $74,525 $74,525 2024
Koreanamericanstoryorg Inc NY$442,460 Executive Director $75,001 $77,216 2023
Blackspace Urbanist Collective Inc NY$432,714 Comanaging Director $110,000 $110,000 2024
Subject Matter Inc NY$487,822 Co-executive Director $60,000 $60,000 2024
New York Chinese Cultural Center Inc NY$493,915 Executive Director $85,500 $85,500 2024
New York Society Of Eye Physicians And Surgeons Inc NY$415,660 Executive Director $136,639 $140,675 2023
Caribbeing Inc NY$414,535 Executive Dir. $14,125 $14,125 2024
Aspiring Leaders Enrichment Center Inc NY$411,858 President $17,050 $17,050 2024
Brooklyn Japanese American Family NY$514,591 President $34,776 $35,803 2023
Bundled Arrows Inc NY$398,839 Director $7,416 $7,416 2024
Dance Parade Inc NY$394,841 Brd&exec Dir $24,750 $24,112 2025
Yaffa Cultural Arts Inc NY$379,572 Executive Director $28,064 $28,893 2023
The Midtown Utica Community Center Inc NY$535,813 Executive Director $70,223 $70,223 2024
Alliance Francaise Of Westchester NY$372,319 Executive Di $64,104 $64,104 2024
Greek America Cultural And NY$367,037 President $44,000 $45,300 2023
Exhibit J Inc NY$366,615 Director $101,825 $104,833 2023
Black Rock Global Arts Foundation Inc NY$561,508 Executive Director $55,000 $55,000 2024
Arteeast Inc NY$347,495 Executive Director $70,000 $70,000 2024
Welsh North American Association Inc NY$345,937 Executive Secr. $50,575 $50,575 2024
Utpl-ny Inc NY$575,985 Director $68,758 $68,758 2024
Mexico Beyond Mariachi Inc NY$330,935 Ceo/executive Director $19,757 $19,248 2025
Extend NY$328,827 Director $85,533 $85,533 2024
Kyoungs Pacific Beat Inc NY$324,992 Executive Dir. $40,000 $41,181 2023
Global Alliance Of Indigenous Peoples Gender Justi NY$312,058 Director $58,000 $59,713 2023
Capital District Celtic Cultural NY$623,556 Executive Director $20,000 $20,000 2024

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 default96th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)96th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted96th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted96th

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 (Courtney Gray) 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 26 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A23) + NY + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $120,000 is reasonable (approximately the 96th 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.