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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Southeast Texas Arts Council Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 237264461
TX · NTEE A26Z
FY ending 2023-09-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sue Bard, Executive Director / CEO ($50,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 32 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: Sue Bard — reported title “EXEC DIRECTO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

32 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 32 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,458 total compensation of comparable organizations → $153,191 $50,000
$5,35910th
$28,99225th
$47,243Median
$58,66075th
$68,96990th
$50,000This org · 53rd
p10$5,359
p25$28,992
p50$47,243
p75$58,660
p90$68,969
$50,000

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 TX 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
Cahiers D'art Institute NY$184,633 Secretary And Treasurer $20,000 $17,548 2024
Starkville Area Arts Council MS$196,421 Executive Director $46,200 $51,439 2023
Hammond Cultural Foundation Inc LA$171,408 Executive Di $47,515 $50,804 2024
Arizona Citizens For The Arts AZ$170,457 Ceo $105,000 $98,054 2024
The Compound Inc MD$203,675 Treasurer $1,846 $1,725 2023
Arts Council Of Southwestern Indiana Inc IN$204,241 Executive Director $61,790 $63,272 2024
The Staunton Augusta Art Center Inc VA$204,331 Interim Exec $33,987 $32,806 2023
Theatre League Of South Florida Inc FL$204,432 Executive Director $40,498 $36,942 2024
Artspartners Of Central Illinois Inc IL$207,717 Executive Director $71,945 $68,680 2024
Cooperstown Art Association Inc NY$210,929 Executive Direc $62,300 $56,278 2023
Johnston County Arts Council Inc NC$212,629 Executive Di $52,800 $51,609 2025
Chinese American Arts Council NY$213,969 Executive Director $39,180 $35,393 2023
Kern River Valley Art Associat CA$216,842 President $18,000 $14,703 2025
Randolph Arts Guild Inc NC$219,464 Director $51,304 $50,147 2025
Creative Alliance Manitou Springs CO$144,375 Vice Chair $2,800 $2,684 2023
Clarksville-montgomery County TN$224,353 Executive Dir. $40,008 $39,783 2025
Huntingdon County Arts Council PA$229,077 Executive Director $34,615 $33,519 2024
Greater Birmingham Arts Education Collaborative Inc AL$229,095 Executive Director $55,829 $58,565 2024
Artreach St Croix MN$232,525 Executive Di $73,243 $70,274 2024
Emerald Empire Art Association Inc OR$131,982 Director $5,344 $4,961 2023
Transylvania Community Arts Council NC$130,060 Executive Director $58,750 $58,944 2024
Greater Rochester Arts And Cultural Trust MN$125,170 Ceo $15,007 $14,398 2024
Shoreline Arts Alliance Inc CT$246,862 Ceo/executiv $172,714 $153,191 2025
Putnam Arts Council NY$248,244 President $78,640 $69,001 2024
Chagrin Foundation For Arts OH$259,370 Executive Di $45,000 $45,087 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TX 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 TX 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)56th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted53rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted53rd

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 (Sue Bard) 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 32 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A26), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $50,000 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.