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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Institute Of Musical Art

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 136162648
NY · NTEE A6EI
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Joseph Polisi, Executive Director / CEO ($63,589) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 27 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 67th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

How comparable organizations were selected

27 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 27 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,114 total compensation of comparable organizations → $705,709 $63,589
$7,15910th
$16,13125th
$35,045Median
$103,38975th
$229,05790th
$63,589This org · 67th
p10$7,159
p25$16,131
p50$35,045
p75$103,389
p90$229,057
$63,589

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.

OrganizationStateTotal revenueTotal compSource
Booth Art Fund IncGA $0$20,422 990
Smu CorpTX $0$284,277 990
Olney Theatre Center For The Arts IncMD $0$12,471 990
Austin Children's Museum Holdings IncTX $0$7,613 990
Four Hundred Beacon CorporationMA $0$12,835 990
The Harold E Lemay MuseumWA $0$25,957 990
Hollywood Arts Building QalicbNY $0$109,231 990
The Witte Title Holding CompanyTX $0$45,457 990
The Endowment For The Museum Of FineTX $0$329,441 990
The Stanford White Casino TheatreRI $0$97,547 990
The Murray Arts Center Foundation IncGA $0$48,049 990
Harvest Time Ministries UsaCA $0$64,694 990
Native Sisters Circle IncCA $0$1,114 990
Center Park ProductionsMI $0$35,307 990
Oromo Cultural CenterWA $0$23,096 990
Nynj Super Bowl Host Company IncNJ $0$28,791 990
Drilling Company Theatrical Productions IncNY $0$19,426 990
The Holy Land Experience MinistriesTX $0$192,244 990
Connecticut Public Broadcasting RealCT $0$35,045 990
World War Ii Campaigns IncLA $0$124,475 990
Moma Auxiliaries IncNY $0$705,709 990
Irelands Great Hunger Museum IncCT $0$60,962 990
World War Ii Pavilions IncLA $0$124,475 990
Native Roots Global FundCA $0$4,587 990
Berkeley Traditional Music FoundationCA $0$6,477 990

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 default67th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)67th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted63rd

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 (Joseph Polisi) 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 27 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (A), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $63,589 is reasonable (approximately the 67th 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). 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.