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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Sandglass Center For Puppetry & Theater Research Ltd

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 043340533
VT · NTEE A60
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Shoshana Ball, Executive Director / CEO ($37,556) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 147 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 40th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Shoshana Ball — reported title “Board Member and Artistic Director”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

147 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 147 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $104,208 $37,556
$11,60010th
$24,73125th
$45,401Median
$59,35975th
$73,80590th
$37,556This org · 40th
p10$11,600
p25$24,731
p50$45,401
p75$59,359
p90$73,805
$37,556

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
Arts For Kids Inc NJ$316,270 Executive Director $57,868 $48,574 2025
Mishpachah Inc OH$321,109 Director $60,911 $64,096 2023
Atlanta Dance Theatre Inc GA$315,215 Artistic Dir $65,078 $63,146 2024
Yes And Collaborative Arts PA$314,678 Executive Director $32,490 $31,267 2024
Bower Center For The Arts VA$321,721 Executive Director $63,750 $59,400 2024
Childrens Legacy Theatre Inc DC$322,058 Executive Director $51,970 $44,010 2024
Performing Arts Academy Of New TX$313,628 Chairman $29,996 $28,955 2024
Teada Productions CA$323,308 President & $60,000 $48,708 2025
Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre MT$324,315 Associate Dir. $30,000 $31,207 2024
Reno Dance Company NV$311,005 Executive Director $15,000 $14,510 2024
Xelias Aerial Arts Studio MN$309,842 Executive Director $96,000 $89,180 2025
Unison Learning Center Inc NY$326,868 Executive Director $63,000 $56,559 2023
Odyssey Opera Of Boston Inc MA$327,762 Executive Director $106,167 $94,785 2023
Sino Us Performing Arts Organization CA$327,781 Secretary $62,699 $53,790 2023
Crossroads Creative & Performing Arts OR$327,878 Executive Director $63,167 $58,280 2023
North Bay Theatrics Inc CA$328,366 President $64,408 $55,256 2023
Staibdance Inc GA$328,628 Admin Director $40,000 $38,812 2024
Youth Dance Ensemble And School MN$306,706 Executive Director $60,468 $56,172 2025
Texan-french Alliance For The Arts TX$329,894 Executive Director $83,999 $83,480 2023
Ghostlight Productions Inc MI$306,295 General Manager & Artistic Director $39,250 $39,095 2024
Ankeny Friends Of The Arts IA$304,062 Executive Director $47,885 $52,091 2023
Christ In The Arts Of West Texas Inc TX$302,809 President $26,300 $24,733 2025
Katharsis Media NM$302,669 Executive Director $71,027 $73,721 2024
Brownbody MN$302,426 Executive Director $63,550 $62,388 2023
Danceast Collective TN$334,000 Executive Director $1 $1 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VT 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 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 default40th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)39th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted41st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted40th

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 (Shoshana Ball) 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 147 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $37,556 is reasonable (approximately the 40th 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.