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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Downstairs Cabaret Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 161206395
NY · NTEE P20
FY ending 2024-08-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Christopher Kawolsky, Executive Director / CEO ($14,773) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 40 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 15th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Christopher Kawolsky — reported title “PRODUCING DIRECTOR”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

40 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 40 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,500 total compensation of comparable organizations → $112,000 $14,773
$6,28810th
$24,24625th
$45,951Median
$77,43775th
$95,66590th
$14,773This org · 15th
p10$6,288
p25$24,246
p50$45,951
p75$77,437
p90$95,665
$14,773

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
Maria M Love Convalescent Fund NY$196,724 Executive Director $30,168 $29,390 2025
St Pauls House Inc NY$196,824 Director $15,000 $14,613 2025
Independence 2nd Owner Corp NY$193,146 Chief Executive Officer $81,429 $81,429 2024
Christmas Magic Inc NY$200,181 Treasurer $6,300 $6,300 2024
Friends Of The East River Esplanade NY$192,057 Executive Director, As Of May 2024 $41,487 $41,487 2024
Wheeling Forward Inc NY$202,236 President $18,000 $18,532 2023
Cancer Resource Center Of The NY$189,878 President/ce $84,017 $84,017 2024
Southern Door Community Land Trust Inc NY$207,189 Executive Director $70,408 $70,408 2024
Liga De Justicia Foundation Inc NY$207,870 Executive Director $6,154 $6,154 2024
P V Amman Temple Of N A NY$211,062 Priest $6,000 $6,177 2023
Umbrella Of The Capital District Inc NY$211,846 Executive Dir. $54,150 $54,150 2024
Shower Power Inc NY$213,183 Executive Director $85,000 $85,000 2024
Center For Family Life Community NY$214,276 Co-executive Director $50,028 $51,506 2023
Be A Friend Project Inc NY$217,189 Executive Di $67,692 $69,691 2023
Positive Behavior Support Community NY$173,087 Executive Director $32,400 $33,357 2023
Tikvaseinu Inc NY$223,945 Ceo $50,000 $50,000 2024
Stimulating Minds Through NY$225,571 Ceo $16,940 $16,940 2024
Spring Community Partners Inc NY$167,015 Executive Dir. $40,700 $41,902 2023
Hungarian Human Rights Foundation NY$229,030 Executive Director $29,700 $29,700 2024
Turkic Foundation Of Brooklyn Inc NY$231,866 President $77,723 $80,019 2023
Life Solutions Of Hamlin Inc NY$233,981 Director $1,500 $1,500 2024
All Babies Cherished Inc NY$158,208 Executive Director $29,584 $29,584 2024
Mom Starts Here Inc NY$235,254 Former Vice Chair/executiv $76,576 $76,576 2024
Foreign Service Fellowship International Inc NY$236,150 President And Director $94,944 $94,944 2024
Local 338 Charities Inc NY$156,060 Chairman $51,727 $53,255 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 default15th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)13th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted28th
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 (Christopher Kawolsky) 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 40 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (P20) + NY + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $14,773 is reasonable (approximately the 15th 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.