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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 042607807
MA · NTEE A69Z
FY ending 2025-05-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Paul Levenson, Executive Director / CEO ($52,525) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 706 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 74th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

706 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 706 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$264 total compensation of comparable organizations → $509,187 $52,525
$5,16910th
$14,99525th
$31,764Median
$53,37675th
$74,92790th
$52,525This org · 74th
p10$5,169
p25$14,995
p50$31,764
p75$53,376
p90$74,927
$52,525

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 MA 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
Community Catalyst Action Fund Inc MA$120,921 Co-interim President & Ceo $39,559 $40,606 2024
Mennonite Heritage & Agrcltr Museum KS$120,970 Museum Director/curator $18,915 $24,031 2023
Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion Inc PA$121,034 Exec Dir -1/1/23 To 9/12/23 $45,311 $53,139 2023
Blair Center For The Arts Foundation KS$121,044 Director $28,995 $36,837 2023
Working Artists And The Greater Economy Inc NY$120,266 Core Organizer $48,396 $51,429 2023
Florida Association Of Museums FL$120,156 Executive Director $55,650 $61,481 2023
Alianta Inc DC$121,565 Chair $2,725 $2,812 2023
Fresno Ideaworks CA$119,866 Secretary Jan- Jun $1,020 $1,036 2023
The Sam Houston Masonic Library And Museum Association TX$121,623 Treasurer $3,000 $3,340 2025
Greene County Historical Society PA$119,793 Executive Director $40,508 $47,506 2023
Water Mill Museum NY$119,739 Director/mgr $39,179 $40,440 2024
Bluegrass Heritage Museum Inc KY$121,829 Executive-di $38,016 $46,654 2024
Fairfield Bay Library Inc AR$121,856 Director $41,507 $53,293 2024
Historic Lexington Foundation VA$119,424 Executive Director $22,238 $24,526 2024
Swiss Center Of North America Inc WI$122,276 President/ceo (As Of April 2024) $51,154 $61,023 2024
Copper Country Community Arts Council MI$122,447 Executive Director $43,986 $53,391 2023
One Achord Guitar Lessons Inc CA$122,814 President $77,624 $76,564 2024
People Power Media CA$123,006 Secretary $6,000 $5,918 2024
Cedar Falls Band Inc IA$123,132 President $760 $950 2024
Gordon Education Initiatives For TX$123,161 Executive Di $30,170 $34,473 2024
Asbury Park Arts Council Inc NJ$123,192 Secretary/ex $77,140 $78,672 2024
The George Joseph And Susie Ezzell Atta Memorial Library Inc AL$118,265 Director, President $2,555 $3,153 2024
Wcuw Inc MA$118,159 Executive Director $50,800 $52,144 2024
All Cultures Equal Inc IA$123,407 Executive Dir. $14,300 $18,413 2023
The Walter Hive AZ$123,495 Executive Director $75,790 $85,718 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MA 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 MA 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 default74th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)80th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted75th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted70th

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 (Paul Levenson) 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 706 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (A), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $52,525 is reasonable (approximately the 74th 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.