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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Dorchester Center For The Arts Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 237164277
MD · NTEE A25Z
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Barbara Seese, Executive Director / CEO ($67,150) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 158 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 53rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Barbara Seese — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

158 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 158 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$169 total compensation of comparable organizations → $231,303 $67,150
$20,75710th
$33,26925th
$65,943Median
$87,38775th
$106,70090th
$67,150This org · 53rd
p10$20,757
p25$33,269
p50$65,943
p75$87,387
p90$106,700
$67,150

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 MD 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
True Skool Inc WI$406,107 Co-executive Director $82,600 $94,711 2024
Marion Community School Of The Arts IN$407,220 Executive Di $54,400 $64,847 2023
Hoffman Center OR$409,001 Executive Director $75,320 $79,064 2023
Tropicalfete Inc NY$402,617 President $2,000 $2,043 2023
River Arts Of Morrisville Inc VT$402,100 Executive Dir. $64,033 $70,762 2024
Truartspeaks MN$401,882 Executive Director $86,035 $96,094 2023
Toshiko Takaezu Foundation Inc NJ$401,851 Executive Director $6,912 $6,776 2024
Famfrequency Productions Inc PA$401,307 Ceo $33,083 $36,222 2024
European American Musical Alliance Inc NY$399,727 Director $59,693 $60,971 2023
4youth Productions Inc DE$416,716 Executive Di $70,000 $73,313 2025
Aspire Creative Arts Program CA$394,076 President $13,033 $12,721 2023
Sanctuary Art Center WA$419,228 Executive Director $104,167 $105,418 2023
Praize Productions Inc Nfp IL$419,296 Board Chair $80,638 $87,040 2024
Local Motion Project VA$419,835 Executive Director $88,937 $94,282 2024
Praxis Integrated Fiber Workshop OH$421,119 Executive Director $75,779 $88,121 2024
Art In Session Inc FL$422,084 President & Executive Director $27,736 $28,608 2024
Bridgeview School Of Fine Arts Inc VA$426,623 President $90,000 $95,408 2024
Developing Artist Collaboration DE$385,868 Founder $48,312 $51,937 2024
Mount Hope Learning Center RI$427,441 Executive Director $60,950 $66,063 2023
Arts For All Nevada NV$384,474 Executive Director $67,771 $74,584 2024
Fairfield County Children's Choir Inc CT$429,406 Music Director $76,895 $81,496 2023
Electronic Music Education And Preservation Project PA$380,726 Executive Director $65,000 $71,168 2024
Texas Alternatives Foundation TX$433,381 Executive Director $204,564 $231,303 2023
Arts For All Wisconsin Inc WI$433,993 Executive Dir. $108,225 $124,094 2024
Arts On Alexander TX$376,034 Exec & Artistic Director $20,000 $21,399 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MD 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 MD 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 default53rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)59th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted54th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted51st

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 (Barbara Seese) 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 158 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A25), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $67,150 is reasonable (approximately the 53rd 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.