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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Opera Foundation Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 133377138
NY · NTEE A6AJ
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Elizabeth Walbroel, Executive Director / CEO ($12,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 1560 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 16th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Elizabeth Walbroel — reported title “Exec. Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

1,560 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 1,560 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$23 total compensation of comparable organizations → $317,106 $12,000
$6,09210th
$19,13825th
$39,420Median
$60,10775th
$79,26690th
$12,000This org · 16th
p10$6,092
p25$19,138
p50$39,420
p75$60,107
p90$79,266
$12,000

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 NY 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
Tunefoolery Music Inc MA$170,482 Sec. (From 11/2024) (Treas. Prior)/co-exec. Dir. $13,060 $12,652 2025
Arizona Citizens For The Arts AZ$170,457 Ceo $105,000 $111,751 2024
Women In The Arts Inc National Womens IL$170,731 President $2,800 $3,137 2023
Lucky Plush Productions IL$170,279 Secretary $3,443 $3,649 2025
Topeka Civic Theatre KS$170,265 Secretary/tr $14,777 $17,667 2024
St Marys Music Academy NC$170,173 Director $33,000 $37,734 2024
Shelby County Historical Society IN$171,028 Executive Dir. $43,269 $50,496 2024
Space Shuttle Exhibition Gallery WA$170,000 Ceo, Museum Of Flight Fdn $34,413 $34,096 2024
The Coleman Chamber Music Association CA$171,101 Executive Director $85,273 $81,486 2024
Great Bridge Battlefield VA$169,994 Executive Director $63,907 $70,303 2023
Public Trust PA$169,980 Executive Director And Ex Officio $25,000 $27,590 2024
Indexical Inc CA$171,200 Executive Di $48,954 $46,780 2024
Fundacion Nacional Para La Cultura Popular PR$169,885 Administratror $9,000 $9,000 2024
Hammond Cultural Foundation Inc LA$171,408 Executive Di $47,515 $57,900 2024
Columbus Ohio Firefighters Museum Inc OH$171,440 Executive Director $33,000 $38,680 2024
88 International Corp NY$171,603 President $23,650 $23,650 2024
Clarke County Historical Society AL$169,305 Museum Director And Coordinator $38,275 $44,580 2025
Alamosa Chamber Of Commerce CO$171,865 Executive Dir. $54,590 $59,638 2023
Vicksburg Foundation For Historic Preservation MS$169,122 Executive Director $65,742 $78,940 2025
Walking Shadow Theatre Company MN$169,065 Executive Director $6,500 $6,924 2025
Tri-motor Heritage Foundation OH$169,054 Curator $30,000 $36,202 2023
Carpinteria Valley CA$172,123 Exec Dir & C $95,610 $91,364 2024
Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation KY$172,234 President & Ceo $10,580 $12,579 2024
Dance Wisconsin Inc WI$172,236 Director $5,200 $5,855 2025
Appalachian Arts Craft Center Inc TN$168,701 Executive Director $48,115 $55,969 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY 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 NY 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 default16th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)17th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted15th

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 (Elizabeth Walbroel) 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 1560 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (A), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $12,000 is reasonable (approximately the 16th 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.