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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Alleghany Highlands Trails Alliance

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 881473783
VA · NTEE N32
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Michael Scales, Executive Director / CEO ($57,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 101 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: Michael Scales — reported title “DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

101 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 101 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$55 total compensation of comparable organizations → $195,777 $57,500
$1,11710th
$3,18925th
$11,562Median
$27,16175th
$39,56490th
$57,500This org · 96th
p10$1,117
p25$3,189
p50$11,562
p75$27,161
p90$39,564
$57,500

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 VA 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
Mora Traveling Baseball Association MN$67,934 President $1,974 $2,020 2024
Greater Renton-tukwila Youth Soccer Association WA$68,590 Registrar $7,500 $6,954 2024
Squibnocket Bass And Surf Club Ltd MA$66,750 President & Treasurer $10,000 $9,581 2023
Central Iowa Figure Skating Club Inc IA$65,921 Director $1,320 $1,497 2024
Aspen Winter Sports Foundation Inc CO$69,958 Former Executive Director $41,771 $41,483 2024
Team Redlands CA$70,200 Ceo $29,500 $27,161 2023
Weston Field Hockey Club Inc TX$70,453 President $6,950 $7,413 2023
Dickson County Fair Association TN$70,573 Secretary $9,600 $10,760 2023
Marco Island Community Parks FL$64,679 Chair $720 $701 2024
Future Leaders Basketball Training TX$64,616 President $36,350 $38,772 2023
Montgomery County Tennis & Education Foundation MD$71,557 Executive Director $11,309 $10,950 2024
Dunn County Fish & Game Association WI$71,734 Treasurer $2,528 $2,734 2024
Parker County Miracle League TX$71,768 Executive Direc $35,000 $35,326 2025
Huntingburg Teenage Canteen Inc IN$63,368 Youth Director $10,920 $11,927 2024
Youth Athletic Sports Foundation CA$63,049 Director $11,400 $10,195 2024
Rocky Mountain Wrestling UT$73,112 President $410 $435 2024
Cascade Locks Park Association OH$62,341 Executive Di $26,931 $29,542 2024
Meadowbrook Woods Swim Team VA$62,041 Head Coach $15,260 $15,260 2024
Duluth Heritage Sports Center MN$73,881 Trustee/gene $1,465 $1,543 2023
Haese Academy Incorporated FL$61,288 President And Ceo $11,700 $11,720 2023
Lido Sports School Inc NY$74,793 President $6,000 $5,615 2024
Ngf Education Inc FL$75,000 President & Coo $16,851 $16,880 2023
Archers Usa Foundation AR$60,654 Bm/secretary $20,004 $23,288 2024
Fc Elite Ltd WI$60,460 Co-director $20,004 $21,637 2024
Foundation Of Louisiana Bowling Proprietors Assoc LA$75,634 Treasurer $2,600 $3,053 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VA 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 VA 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)95th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted97th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted91st

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 (Michael Scales) 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 101 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (N), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $57,500 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.