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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Circular Philadelphia

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 862780678
PA · NTEE S30
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Nicolas Esposito, Executive Director / CEO ($38,556) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 88 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 40th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

88 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 88 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,213 total compensation of comparable organizations → $169,705 $38,556
$10,91310th
$23,73625th
$52,514Median
$75,12975th
$91,40390th
$38,556This org · 40th
p10$10,913
p25$23,736
p50$52,514
p75$75,129
p90$91,403
$38,556

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 PA 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
Retail Advancement Fund VA$175,000 President/ceo $21,211 $19,947 2024
Downtown Hays Development Corporation KS$171,029 Executive Director $63,414 $68,699 2023
Delaware Community Development Corporati DE$169,911 Executive Director $76,287 $74,904 2023
Southeastern Vermont Economic VT$176,768 Executive Director $4,455 $4,497 2023
Bricker Price Block Restoration Corporation IA$169,197 Executive Director $63,423 $67,638 2024
California Urban Partnership CA$178,480 President & Ceo $82,000 $71,004 2023
Lincoln County Economic Development Corporation CO$178,950 Executive Director $80,000 $74,716 2024
Twin Cities Innovation Alliance MN$181,975 Founder Board Member $71,030 $66,599 2025
Vermillion Cultural Association SD$164,175 Executive Director $34,002 $36,550 2024
Forward Brunswick Inc GA$164,154 Executive Director $80,500 $78,837 2024
Gallatin Valley Foundation For Economic MT$182,243 Executive Dir $12,546 $13,172 2024
Sustain Blaine Inc ID$182,961 Executive Director $110,000 $113,975 2024
The Quilt Corporation Nfp Inc IL$183,028 President $11,700 $11,203 2024
Richfield Tourism Promotion Board Inc MN$162,171 Executive Director $56,500 $54,377 2024
Grundy Livingston Kankakee IL$162,110 Executive Di $74,849 $71,673 2024
Community Sustainability Enterprise Inc GA$161,800 Executive Director $72,645 $73,246 2023
North Central Enterprise Inc PA$156,183 Executive Director $9,175 $9,175 2023
Keyah Advanced Rural Manufacturing Alliance NM$190,416 Chief Executive Officer $60,500 $63,379 2024
Blades Economic Development Corporation DE$190,730 Dockmaster $19,200 $18,311 2024
Chautauqua Opportunities For NY$191,315 Ceo $20,241 $17,815 2024
Lincoln County Economic WA$154,537 Executive Director $64,043 $54,408 2025
Piedmont Triad Film Commission NC$153,193 Executive Director $84,498 $85,039 2024
Foodworks Alliance Llc OH$195,468 Executive Di $34,678 $36,831 2023
Catalyst Community Capital Inc FL$195,564 Ceo / Board Member $11,002 $10,364 2023
The Foundation Of The Economic PA$149,605 President $23,734 $23,053 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to PA 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 PA 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 default40th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)39th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted44th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted23rd

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 (Nicolas Esposito) 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 88 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (S30), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $38,556 is reasonable (approximately the 40th 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.