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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

American Harp Society Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 136131860
MA · NTEE A68C
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Kathryn Mcmanus, Executive Director / CEO ($59,600) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 168 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 70th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Kathryn Mcmanus — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

168 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 168 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$122 total compensation of comparable organizations → $162,416 $59,600
$11,69010th
$24,38325th
$44,610Median
$65,69775th
$89,60990th
$59,600This org · 70th
p10$11,690
p25$24,383
p50$44,610
p75$65,697
p90$89,609
$59,600

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
Guardians Of Sound PA$254,493 Executive Director $48,200 $51,955 2024
Opus Community Music School Inc MD$254,890 Executive Director/teacher $47,417 $47,917 2024
Mencius Society For The Arts Inc NY$256,991 Executive Di $34,793 $33,108 2025
Music In Place CA$258,414 Mkting Adm Off. $39,708 $37,062 2024
Montana Chamber Music Society MT$249,956 Director $108 $122 2025
Mallarme Chamber Players Inc NC$249,676 Artistic Director $77,004 $86,002 2024
Contemporaneous Inc NY$249,614 Director $30,057 $29,358 2024
Rock Central Inc WI$259,349 Executive Di $18,886 $21,319 2024
Etm-massachusetts Inc MA$260,492 Exective Director $94,688 $94,688 2023
Asheville Music School Sound Education NC$247,759 Ex Officio $43,403 $47,225 2025
Border Crossing MN$261,798 Exec Director $85,906 $89,387 2025
Campbell Learning Center Inc TX$246,185 Director $58,994 $65,670 2023
Renovation In Music Education DC$262,501 President $119,086 $116,292 2023
Colorado Music Bridge CO$245,716 Co-exec Director $18,000 $19,207 2023
Music Heals International CA$245,634 Founder/exec $44,550 $41,581 2024
Asociacion Suzuki De Puerto Rico Inc PR$244,801 Administrator $35,132 $34,124 2024
New Orleans Arts & Cultural Host LA$264,844 Executive Di $42,000 $49,989 2024
Girls Rock Des Moines IA$265,402 Executive Director $33,280 $39,387 2024
The Claflin Hill Music Performance MA$265,767 Exec & Artistic Director $60,324 $60,324 2023
The Impact Project NY$265,968 Director $59,250 $57,871 2024
Crescendo Inc CT$241,857 Founding And Artistic Director $30,000 $30,403 2024
International Tuba Euphonium Association CT$266,921 Executive Director $24,996 $24,679 2025
Music City Artist Development CA$267,297 Executive Director $6,955 $6,491 2024
Poss Music Works Nfp IL$240,849 Executive Director $20,000 $20,705 2025
Sound Impact VA$240,775 Secretary $32,945 $35,399 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MA 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 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 default70th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)71st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted71st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted69th

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 (Kathryn Mcmanus) 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 168 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A68), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $59,600 is reasonable (approximately the 70th 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.