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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Blue Heron Renaissance Choir Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 043522239
MA · NTEE A6B
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Robert Pape, Executive Director / CEO ($49,847) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 56 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 46th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Robert Pape — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

56 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 56 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,717 total compensation of comparable organizations → $119,558 $49,847
$17,19910th
$33,76425th
$55,161Median
$73,50075th
$93,56990th
$49,847This org · 46th
p10$17,199
p25$33,764
p50$55,161
p75$73,500
p90$93,569
$49,847

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
The Talent Machine Company Inc MD$313,727 President $1,650 $1,717 2024
Children's Chorus Of Maryland Inc MD$319,203 Excutive Director $85,261 $88,704 2024
The Girl Choir Of South Florida Inc FL$309,837 Exeuctive Artistic Director $48,667 $49,566 2025
National Choral Council Inc NY$306,582 Exec Director $74,000 $74,413 2024
Island Choral Experience WA$306,575 Director $90,000 $89,669 2024
Atlanta Master Chorale GA$325,611 Executive Director $61,000 $68,254 2024
Refugee Choir Project WA$327,706 Executive Director $94,274 $93,927 2024
Larimer Choral Society CO$299,706 Executive Di $28,750 $29,887 2025
San Luis Obispo Master Chorale CA$299,577 Executive Director (Non-voting) $18,146 $16,987 2025
Charlotte Master Chorale NC$299,056 Ex-officio $52,958 $60,893 2024
Central Dakota Children's Choir ND$298,536 Executive Di $35,525 $42,265 2025
The Piatigorsky Foundation NY$331,767 Aristic Director/president $5,000 $5,177 2023
The Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus IL$295,492 Executive Director $23,155 $25,332 2024
Jack Music Inc NY$338,095 Director $46,667 $46,927 2024
William Baker Choral Foundation Inc KS$291,526 Development Director $37,500 $45,083 2024
Choral Chameleon NY$291,315 Artistic Director $18,000 $18,635 2023
Salt Lake Choral Artists UT$341,175 Managing Direct $50,000 $56,947 2024
The Choralis Foundation VA$287,316 Artistic Dir $55,000 $60,842 2023
Wilmington Children's Chorus DE$344,704 Executive Director $60,043 $67,357 2023
Singers Minnesota Choral Artists MN$282,513 Exec And Artistic Director $71,902 $77,025 2025
Chandler Childrens Choir Inc AZ$281,311 Executive/artistic Director $30,417 $32,553 2024
Lake Superior Youth Chorus Inc MN$278,979 Choir Coordinator $19,231 $20,601 2025
Pittsburgh Youth Chorus PA$275,725 Executive Dir. $65,958 $73,196 2024
Arkansas Choral Directors AR$359,780 Exec Director $55,000 $68,798 2024
Roanoke Valley Childrens Choir Inc VA$360,633 Rvcc Director $74,106 $79,625 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 2024 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 default46th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)48th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted48th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted46th

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 (Robert Pape) 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 56 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A6B), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $49,847 is reasonable (approximately the 46th 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.