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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Thoreau Society Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 166035496
MA · NTEE A76Z
FY ending 2025-03-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Michael Frederick, Executive Director / CEO ($93,153) against the 2000 closest of 3,068 comparable organizations — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 84th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Michael Frederick — reported title “FORMER EXECU”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

3,068 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 2,000 within the band form the benchmarked peer set (closest by budget).

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $332,704 $93,153
$15,39710th
$36,04625th
$59,676Median
$81,77375th
$103,17790th
$93,153This org · 84th
p10$15,397
p25$36,046
p50$59,676
p75$81,773
p90$103,177
$93,153

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
Southwest Virginia Ballet Company VA$363,594 Art Director $60,658 $68,876 2023
Camden Fireworks Incorporated NJ$363,657 Executive Director $62,414 $65,534 2023
Roxy Bremerton WA$363,396 Executive Director $72,459 $74,102 2024
Lovegood Performing Arts Company OR$363,379 President $12,160 $13,280 2023
The Carving Studio & Sculpture Ctr VT$363,244 Executive Di $76,292 $90,306 2023
Arte Inc CT$363,919 Executive Director $70,000 $74,970 2024
Storyark MN$363,947 Executive Di $70,000 $79,008 2024
Legends Do Live TX$364,008 Director $27,083 $30,946 2024
Ladies Of Hip-hop Festival NJ$363,054 Executive Director $13,700 $14,385 2023
Dimensions Dance Theater Of Miami Inc FL$363,013 President $24,086 $25,846 2024
Performing Arts School Of Central Pa PA$364,121 School Director $18,183 $20,712 2024
International House Of RI$364,130 Executive Di $85,328 $96,220 2023
National Association Of Presidential TX$362,974 Executive Director $72,500 $80,705 2025
West Virginia Mine Wars Museum WV$364,225 Executive Director $66,619 $82,393 2024
Christian Broadcasting Ministries OH$364,229 Secretary $15,405 $18,638 2024
Carpe Diem Arts Inc MD$364,301 Executive Director (Thru 8/3/25) $50,000 $52,019 2025
Knox Partnership For Arts And OH$364,326 Managing Director $54,276 $67,605 2023
American Theater Group NJ$362,732 Artistic Dir $60,000 $61,192 2024
New City Arts Initiative VA$364,446 Executive Director $83,276 $89,478 2025
The Catholic Peace Times Weekly Inc NY$364,450 President $13,850 $14,295 2024
Facetime Theatre Inc PA$364,499 Executive Director $17,504 $20,528 2023
Strike Anywhere Inc NY$362,504 Artistic Dir. $52,498 $54,187 2024
Luma 8 IL$362,280 President $121,752 $136,725 2024
La Casa De Maria Retreat Center CA$364,900 Executive Director $92,250 $90,991 2024
Chamber Orchestra Of New York NY$364,933 Music Director $52,500 $54,189 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MA cost of living and 2025 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 default84th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)90th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted75th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted82nd

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 (Michael Frederick) 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 2000 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (A), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $93,153 is reasonable (approximately the 84th 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.