Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Michael Clough, Executive Director / CEO ($76,636) against the 2000 closest of 2,491 comparable organizations — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 91st percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended
Benchmarked executive: Michael Clough — reported title “MANAGING DIRECT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.
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.
| Organization | State | Revenue | Matched title | Comp (reported) | Comp (adjusted) | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dance Augusta Inc | GA | $231,610 | President | $9,900 | $9,890 | 2024 |
| American Dance Institute | NY | $231,550 | Executive Director | $230,390 | $212,946 | 2023 |
| Urban Arts Collective | TX | $231,684 | Producing Executive Director | $50,000 | $51,159 | 2023 |
| Vail Performing Arts Academy | CO | $231,704 | Director | $72,009 | $70,627 | 2023 |
| Heartland Youth Choir | IA | $231,728 | Former Artistic Director | $31,790 | $34,582 | 2024 |
| Rejoice Diaspora Dance Theater | OR | $231,453 | President | $23,869 | $22,022 | 2024 |
| Los Angeles Theatre Academy Inc | CA | $231,447 | Executive Dir. | $20,310 | $17,939 | 2023 |
| Continuum Arts Collective | ME | $231,432 | Executive Director | $30,000 | $30,727 | 2023 |
| Experimental Chinese School | VA | $231,403 | Academics | $2,750 | $2,570 | 2025 |
| South Park Theatre Inc | PA | $231,848 | Executive Director | $36,000 | $35,668 | 2024 |
| Washington County Historical | MD | $231,361 | Executive Di | $30,601 | $28,424 | 2024 |
| Historic Rittenhousetown Inc | PA | $231,918 | Executive Director | $64,773 | $64,175 | 2024 |
| Threshold Choir | CA | $231,258 | Executive Dir. | $69,949 | $61,782 | 2023 |
| Columbia Basin Allied Arts | WA | $231,970 | Executive Di | $40,126 | $35,692 | 2024 |
| Blue 13 Dance Company Inc | CA | $232,003 | Executive Director | $18,708 | $16,050 | 2024 |
| Towle Performing Arts Company | IN | $232,013 | Executive Director | $56,467 | $59,162 | 2024 |
| Orpheus Male Chorus Of Phoenix | AZ | $232,072 | Artistic Director Exofficio Board Member | $49,873 | $47,653 | 2024 |
| Sjdanceco | CA | $232,074 | Artistic Director & Founder | $7,200 | $6,360 | 2023 |
| Eugene Symphony Foundation | OR | $231,088 | Executive Dir. | $13,181 | $12,520 | 2023 |
| Tri-cities Broadcasting Foundation | MI | $231,020 | President | $93,220 | $95,595 | 2024 |
| Three Oaks Spokes Bicycle Club | MI | $232,222 | President & Executive Director | $48,000 | $49,223 | 2024 |
| Storytelling Arts Of Indiana Inc | IN | $230,989 | Executive Dir | $12,500 | $13,097 | 2024 |
| Newcomb Historical Museum | NY | $230,909 | Museum Director | $52,800 | $48,803 | 2023 |
| Maine Jewish Film Festival | ME | $230,901 | Executive Director | $73,796 | $71,524 | 2025 |
| Berea Historical Society | OH | $230,863 | Key Employee | $9,894 | $10,411 | 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 2024 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.
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.
Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:
| Basis | Subject percentile |
|---|---|
| Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default | 91st |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 89th |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 91st |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 88th |
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.
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
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.