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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Putnam Arts Council

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 141541159
NY · NTEE A26Z
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Joyce Picone, Executive Director / CEO ($78,640) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 51 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 80th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Joyce Picone — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

51 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 51 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$562 total compensation of comparable organizations → $174,590 $78,640
$16,75710th
$40,97925th
$57,153Median
$75,25575th
$92,88490th
$78,640This org · 80th
p10$16,757
p25$40,979
p50$57,153
p75$75,255
p90$92,884
$78,640

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
Shoreline Arts Alliance Inc CT$246,862 Ceo/executiv $172,714 $174,590 2025
Chagrin Foundation For Arts OH$259,370 Executive Di $45,000 $51,385 2025
East Bay Center For Thepreservation Oof Cultural Arts CA$260,374 President/admin Support $10,947 $10,191 2025
Chenango County Council Of The Arts NY$261,508 Executive Director $42,182 $41,095 2025
Artreach St Croix MN$232,525 Executive Di $73,243 $80,091 2024
Dona Ana Arts Council NM$266,004 Executive Director $33,346 $40,863 2023
Arts Council Of Mendocino County CA$266,842 Executive Direc $68,330 $67,224 2023
Greater Birmingham Arts Education Collaborative Inc AL$229,095 Executive Director $55,829 $66,747 2024
Huntingdon County Arts Council PA$229,077 Executive Director $34,615 $38,201 2024
The Crossing Arts Alliance MN$271,075 Executive Director $55,000 $60,142 2024
Clarksville-montgomery County TN$224,353 Executive Dir. $40,008 $45,340 2025
The Stelae Inc FL$272,281 Vice Preside $1,599 $1,662 2024
Arts Council Of South Wood County WI$275,457 Executive Director $50,000 $56,298 2025
Tioga County Council On The Arts Inc NY$276,999 Executive Dir. $41,892 $41,892 2024
Randolph Arts Guild Inc NC$219,464 Director $51,304 $57,153 2025
Arts Council Napa Valley CA$278,573 Ceo/president $97,200 $92,884 2024
Kern River Valley Art Associat CA$216,842 President $18,000 $16,757 2025
Chinese American Arts Council NY$213,969 Executive Director $39,180 $40,337 2023
Lexington County Arts Association SC$283,341 President $500 $562 2025
Barn Arts Center For The Arts Company VT$283,488 Executive Director $69,010 $79,138 2023
Johnston County Arts Council Inc NC$212,629 Executive Di $52,800 $58,819 2025
Cooperstown Art Association Inc NY$210,929 Executive Direc $62,300 $64,140 2023
Artspartners Of Central Illinois Inc IL$207,717 Executive Director $71,945 $78,274 2024
Theatre League Of South Florida Inc FL$204,432 Executive Director $40,498 $42,102 2024
The Staunton Augusta Art Center Inc VA$204,331 Interim Exec $33,987 $37,389 2023

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 default80th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)88th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted80th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted80th

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 (Joyce Picone) 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 51 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A26), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $78,640 is reasonable (approximately the 80th 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.