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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Marblehead Little Theatre Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 042665205
MA · NTEE A650
FY ending 2025-05-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Alma Mahon, Executive Director / CEO ($3,800) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 310 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 5th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Alma Mahon — reported title “SECRETARY”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

310 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 310 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$792 total compensation of comparable organizations → $150,972 $3,800
$7,69310th
$21,76025th
$42,354Median
$61,40575th
$75,60390th
$3,800This org · 5th
p10$7,693
p25$21,760
p50$42,354
p75$61,405
p90$75,603
$3,800

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
Improv Utopia CA$289,594 Presidentceo $50,417 $49,729 2024
Flying V Ltd MD$287,745 Executive Director $37,000 $40,680 2023
Soul Rep Theatre Company TX$289,722 Producton $26,854 $29,893 2025
Inside Out Theatre Company Inc FL$287,632 Executive Director $65,004 $69,754 2024
Wichita Falls Backdoor Players Inc TX$290,648 Executive Director $45,510 $53,537 2023
Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater MA$286,234 Director/curator $30,000 $30,794 2024
Children's Educational Theatre Inc OR$291,263 Executive Director $23,089 $24,492 2024
Chicago Dramatists IL$291,266 Artistic Direc. $33,065 $38,228 2023
Murphys Creek Theater Conservatory CA$286,025 Vice President $65,000 $66,007 2023
Flashback Theater Co KY$285,896 Producing Ar $30,000 $35,867 2025
Cactus Pear Music Festival TX$284,917 Executive Dir. $69,333 $79,221 2024
Mtvarts Inc OH$284,064 Artistic Dir $7,200 $8,711 2024
Hawaii Childrens Theatre HI$283,277 Secretary $4,000 $4,091 2024
Bond Street Theatre Coalition Ltd NY$295,067 Vice Preside $31,200 $32,205 2024
Paris Community Theater TX$295,327 President $4,700 $5,370 2024
The Harbor Stage Company Inc MA$281,765 President $11,508 $11,812 2024
Rising Star Theatre Company IA$281,633 Director/artistic And Education Director $39,000 $50,218 2023
Live Oak Theatre Company Inc FL$281,507 President $7,376 $8,149 2023
Mineral Point Opera House Inc WI$295,976 Director $33,132 $39,525 2024
Yard Theater Inc CA$296,182 President $31,150 $31,633 2023
New York City Players Inc NY$296,648 President $2,875 $3,055 2023
The Gift Theatre Company IL$280,448 Managing Director $41,346 $46,431 2024
Asante Art Institute Of Indianapolis Inc IN$297,818 Director $25,000 $29,338 2025
Shakesperience Productions Inc CT$298,001 Executive Pr $21,000 $21,911 2025
Lumina Studio Theatre Inc MD$298,006 Co-executive Director $56,986 $60,856 2024

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 default5th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)5th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted5th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted5th

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 (Alma Mahon) 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 310 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A65), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $3,800 is reasonable (approximately the 5th 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.