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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Elm Shakespeare Company

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 061426731
CT · NTEE A650
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Rebecca Goodheart, Executive Director / CEO ($79,711) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 324 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 85th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Rebecca Goodheart — reported title “PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTO”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

324 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 324 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$740 total compensation of comparable organizations → $147,887 $79,711
$13,76810th
$35,03725th
$53,922Median
$70,44575th
$87,03190th
$79,711This org · 85th
p10$13,768
p25$35,037
p50$53,922
p75$70,445
p90$87,031
$79,711

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 CT 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
Exodus Ensemble NM$456,258 Executive Di $38,595 $45,581 2023
Hallwalls Inc NY$454,638 Executive Dir. $50,500 $48,670 2024
Saguaro City Music Theatre AZ$457,185 Managing Director $3,000 $3,077 2024
Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble OR$457,269 Board Member $43,250 $42,837 2024
Portland Revels OR$457,516 Executive Director $60,000 $57,895 2025
Austin Scottish Rite Community And TX$457,853 Executive Dir. $58,200 $62,092 2024
Gingold Theatrical Group NY$452,801 Artistic Dir. $57,200 $55,127 2024
Balanced Almond Inc TX$451,494 President $40,134 $42,818 2024
Chandler Youth Theatre AZ$451,424 Director $50,000 $51,286 2024
Beaumont Community Players Inc TX$459,825 Executive Dir $75,000 $80,015 2024
White Bird Productions Inc NY$450,835 President $60,000 $59,533 2023
Sieminski Theater Inc NJ$462,005 President & Ceo $61,550 $58,611 2024
Playful People Productions CA$463,684 Executive Dir. $12,557 $11,564 2024
Theatre Of The Oppressed Nyc Inc NY$447,079 Executive Director $80,641 $77,718 2024
New Federal Theatre Inc NY$464,790 Board Member/producing Artistic Dir. $70,015 $67,477 2024
Take-up Productions MN$445,379 Trustee/manager $24,880 $26,995 2023
Sweet Jane Productions Inc NY$465,782 President & Chairman $57,077 $56,633 2023
The Inheiritance Project Ltd NY$466,527 Executive Dir. $74,750 $72,041 2024
Hartbeat Ensemble Inc CT$467,053 Managing Director $59,333 $61,086 2023
Community Playhouse Inc IA$443,541 Executive Director $50,375 $60,565 2023
Plan-b Theatre Company UT$467,893 Managing Dir $53,117 $57,981 2024
Fiasco Theater Ltd NY$442,801 President/co-artistic Director $36,465 $35,143 2024
Siudy Flamenco Dance Theatre Inc FL$468,461 Executive Dir. $44,790 $46,202 2023
Performance Now Theatre Company CO$441,146 Executive Producer $24,250 $25,532 2023
Squonk Opera Inc PA$440,506 Co-executive Director/secretary $87,000 $92,532 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CT 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 CT 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 default85th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)86th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted87th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted84th

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 (Rebecca Goodheart) 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 324 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A65), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $79,711 is reasonable (approximately the 85th 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.