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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Sayat Nova Dance Co Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 222805663
MA · NTEE A65J
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Apo Ashjian, Executive Director / CEO ($12,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 105 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 42nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

105 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 105 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$201 total compensation of comparable organizations → $117,189 $12,000
$2,01610th
$5,87125th
$15,786Median
$29,70275th
$51,01390th
$12,000This org · 42nd
p10$2,016
p25$5,871
p50$15,786
p75$29,702
p90$51,013
$12,000

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
The Centralia Area Historical IL$39,167 Executive Di $8,554 $9,090 2024
Phoenix Art Museum Endowment Fund Inc AZ$38,958 Ceo $4,148 $4,439 2023
Rogers Museum Foundation AR$38,934 Acting Executive Director $36,000 $43,739 2024
Beavercreek Historical Society OH$38,924 Director $1,680 $1,924 2024
Center For Environmental Structure CA$38,804 Secretary, Director $30,048 $28,046 2024
North Shore Historical Museum Inc NY$38,653 Former Director $5,025 $4,908 2024
Delilah Charity Inc CA$38,650 Officer $18,655 $17,412 2024
Thiokol Memorial Project GA$38,496 Adviser $500 $544 2024
Allentown Public Theatre PA$40,250 President $8,070 $8,698 2024
Seattle Piano Institute Inc WA$37,538 Artistic Dir $3,500 $3,387 2024
Decatur Fine Arts Academy Inc GA$41,280 President, Ceo $9,390 $10,507 2023
Michael S Rosen Foundation NY$41,453 Secretary $30,887 $30,168 2024
Long Island Association Of The NY$36,905 Chairman $4,500 $4,525 2023
Combat Diver Foundation FL$41,576 President $2,100 $2,133 2024
Center On Modernity In Transition NC$36,231 Consultant $55,000 $61,427 2024
Greater Buckeye Lake Historical Society OH$42,419 Director $20,000 $23,573 2023
Northwest Collaborative Center WA$35,940 President $6,240 $6,039 2024
Goethe House Wisconsin Inc WI$42,578 Executive Director $21,506 $24,277 2024
Miami Arts Commission AZ$35,513 Executive Director $2,105 $2,253 2023
Potters House Community Develo FL$43,271 Pd $24,494 $26,656 2022
Center For Technology & Innovation Inc NY$35,089 Executive Director $6,600 $6,637 2023
Chinese Gospel Broadcasting Center Inc NY$43,522 Former Director $61,295 $61,637 2023
Quasimondo Inc WI$34,937 Executive Dir. (Non-voting $45,760 $51,656 2024
Oregon Newspapers Foundation Inc OR$43,648 Executive Director $23,517 $23,606 2024
Alaska Jewish Historical Museum & AK$34,613 Museum Curator $54,577 $56,399 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 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 default42nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)42nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted52nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted38th

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 (Apo Ashjian) 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 105 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (A), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $12,000 is reasonable (approximately the 42nd 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.