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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Northwest Connecticut Arts Council Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 061725017
CT · NTEE A20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Stephanie Burr, Executive Director / CEO ($55,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 300 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 63rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Stephanie Burr — reported title “Executive Dir.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

300 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 300 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$292 total compensation of comparable organizations → $296,845 $55,000
$8,68410th
$25,10725th
$43,472Median
$63,93075th
$80,58190th
$55,000This org · 63rd
p10$8,684
p25$25,107
p50$43,472
p75$63,930
p90$80,581
$55,000

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
Lynn Music Foundation Inc MA$257,919 President $10,785 $10,336 2023
New Orleans Academy Of Ophthalmology LA$257,218 Executive Director $53,978 $63,392 2023
Firestone Park Cultural And Custodi OH$256,796 President $3,000 $3,292 2024
Northern California Music & Art Culture Center CA$256,509 Executive Director $48,000 $42,938 2024
Blue Sage Center For The Arts CO$256,184 Executive Di $43,577 $43,287 2024
Sephardic Heritage International DC$255,964 Executive Director $20,833 $18,938 2024
Arts Center At Duck Creek Inc NY$260,193 President $94,880 $88,818 2024
Palmo Center For Peace & Education OR$255,475 Presdient $57,946 $57,393 2023
Contemporary Art Group CA$255,236 Executive Director $62,500 $57,560 2023
New Mexico Advocates For The Arts NM$255,053 Director $10,460 $11,999 2023
Ecoarts Of Lake County CA$254,901 Executive Di $43,775 $40,315 2023
Canyon Cinema Foundation CA$261,223 Executive Director $58,708 $54,068 2023
Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation Inc GA$254,029 Executive Di $11,735 $12,223 2024
Rockport Cultural Arts District TX$261,701 Executive Director $76,000 $81,082 2023
Que-os NC$261,808 Executive Director $79,186 $82,576 2025
Brasarte The Damasceno Brazilian Cultural Exchange CA$253,770 Executive Director $11,500 $10,022 2025
Arts In Motion Studio West Michigan MI$252,632 Executive Director $52,000 $55,602 2024
Fire Island Artist Residency Incorporated NY$252,169 Executive Director $48,500 $45,402 2024
Elk River Arts & Lectures MT$252,132 Executive Di $45,150 $50,419 2024
Rhode Island Black Storytellers RI$263,583 Executive Director $60,643 $60,239 2024
Pasacat Inc CA$264,275 Executive Director Administra $5,700 $5,249 2023
Carnegie Visual Arts Center Inc AL$264,371 Executive Di $44,000 $49,244 2024
Instituto Mazatlan Bellas Artes CA$251,111 Secretary $35,664 $32,845 2023
Immersive Arts Alliance CA$264,651 Exec Directo $24,500 $22,563 2023
Waldos And Company PA$251,012 Executive Dir. $24,000 $24,793 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 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 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 default63rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)64th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted63rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted61st

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 (Stephanie Burr) 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 300 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $55,000 is reasonable (approximately the 63rd 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.