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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Craftstudies Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 020238690
VT · NTEE A400
FY ending 2025-03-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Lisa Brahms, Executive Director / CEO ($81,200) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 69 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 80th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

69 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 69 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,036 total compensation of comparable organizations → $164,780 $81,200
$22,44410th
$41,84825th
$62,855Median
$78,05075th
$86,65190th
$81,200This org · 80th
p10$22,444
p25$41,848
p50$62,855
p75$78,050
p90$86,651
$81,200

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 VT 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
Oye Group Inc NY$357,335 Co-chairman $3,200 $2,949 2024
The Carving Studio & Sculpture Ctr VT$363,244 Executive Di $76,292 $80,624 2023
Precita Eyes Muralists Association Inc CA$355,365 Executive Dir. $45,371 $41,134 2023
Teton Arts Council Inc ID$365,515 Executive Director $61,471 $66,687 2024
Bountiful Davis Art Foundation UT$354,072 Executive Director $81,000 $84,543 2024
Wilkes Art Gallery Inc NC$351,723 Executive Director $67,373 $70,993 2024
Studio 23 MI$368,779 Executive Director $58,000 $62,855 2023
Public Art Saint Paul MN$349,666 Executive Di $73,245 $73,808 2024
Katy Artreach TX$348,050 Executive Di $46,350 $48,680 2023
Lenawee Council For The Visual Arts MI$346,125 Executive Director $68,750 $70,502 2025
Athens Photographic Project OH$377,453 Exec Director $86,050 $95,691 2023
Maryland Art Place Inc MD$338,917 Executive Director $96,373 $94,598 2023
Plymouth Art Foundation Inc WI$338,171 Exec Dir $71,564 $76,219 2024
Pennsylvania Guild Of Craftsmen PA$333,636 Exec Dir Out $22,212 $22,590 2024
Watercolor Art Society-houston TX$330,071 Annual Members Exhibit Director $11,302 $11,232 2025
Western Montana Creative MT$390,199 Executive Di $59,523 $65,433 2024
Zocalo Public Square CA$391,536 Ceo $25,806 $22,725 2024
The Video Game History Foundation Inc CA$324,387 President / Executive Director $67,416 $59,367 2024
Washington Architectural Foundation DC$324,151 Executive Director $2,275 $2,036 2024
Center For The Visual Arts WI$322,171 Executive Di $50,402 $53,681 2024
Winter Garden Art Association FL$321,429 Exec Director $59,654 $58,838 2023
Lansing Art Gallery & Education Center MI$320,045 Acting Executive Director $56,140 $60,839 2023
Monira Foundation NJ$401,991 Director/president/exec. D $114,577 $104,325 2024
Charlotte Art League Inc NC$402,149 Executive Dir. $13,077 $13,780 2024
Wave Pool Corp OH$403,451 Interim Executive Director $71,738 $77,486 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VT cost of living and 2025 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 VT 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 default80th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)84th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted84th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted77th

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 (Lisa Brahms) 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 69 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A40), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $81,200 is reasonable (approximately the 80th 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.