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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Palmdale Community Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 954669404
CA · NTEE A57J
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Keri Smith, Executive Director / CEO ($59,178) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 1030 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 75th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

1,030 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 1,030 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$291 total compensation of comparable organizations → $322,321 $59,178
$5,82010th
$17,20425th
$36,555Median
$58,73275th
$76,82790th
$59,178This org · 75th
p10$5,820
p25$17,204
p50$36,555
p75$58,732
p90$76,827
$59,178

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 CA 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
Alleghany Highlands VA$143,122 Executive Di $36,790 $39,958 2024
Krewe Of Seaman Inc LA$143,094 President $73,500 $91,038 2024
Thin Air Community Radio WA$142,997 President $68,177 $68,660 2024
Betti Ono Foundation CA$143,415 Ceo/presiden $193,948 $193,948 2023
Brown County Historical Society WI$143,537 Executive Director $61,500 $72,248 2024
Ct Vivian Foundation Inc GA$143,562 Executive Di $42,000 $46,278 2025
Name Publications Inc FL$143,624 President $6,000 $6,340 2024
Susan Kathleen Black Foundation Inc TX$142,600 Exec Director $29,333 $33,980 2023
Sanford-springvale Historical Society ME$142,583 Executive Director $29,175 $32,015 2025
Chicago Film Society IL$143,760 Executive Director $12,999 $14,375 2024
The Ballard House Project Inc AL$142,515 Executive Director $18,000 $22,520 2023
Great River Taoist Center Inc VA$142,450 Director $36,000 $39,099 2024
Heritage Museum Of Montgomery County TX$142,402 Executive Director $20,946 $23,568 2024
City Of Bridges Foundation PA$143,919 Director $61,235 $68,689 2024
Dane Arts Mural Arts Inc WI$143,946 Executive Director $61,526 $74,413 2023
Michigan Fiber Festival Inc MI$142,147 Festival Coordinator $17,779 $20,642 2024
Collaborative Institute Of Cultural Arts IL$144,152 Director $9,520 $10,839 2023
Long Island Coalition For Fair Broadcasting NY$144,168 Executive Director $67,123 $66,469 2025
Theater Resources Unlimited Inc NY$144,204 Executive Direc, President $24,150 $25,272 2023
Film Festival Alliance DC$141,976 Executive Di $54,000 $54,877 2023
Creative Alliance Manitou Springs CO$144,375 Vice Chair $2,800 $3,109 2023
Third Coast International Audio Festival IL$141,853 Frmr Co-direct. $76,224 $84,293 2024
Polish Center Of Discovery And Learning MA$144,437 Director $6,000 $6,065 2024
Opera Cultura CA$141,727 President $52,000 $50,508 2024
Island Community House Inc VA$144,658 Executive Director $65,960 $73,755 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA 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 CA 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 default75th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)81st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted99th

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 (Keri Smith) 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 1030 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (A), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $59,178 is reasonable (approximately the 75th 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.