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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Frontline Arts

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 237425516
NJ · NTEE A400
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Rachel Heberling, Executive Director / CEO ($62,423) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 50 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 64th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Rachel Heberling — reported title “Fmr Ex Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

50 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 50 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$24 total compensation of comparable organizations → $110,981 $62,423
$11,30010th
$25,93625th
$52,755Median
$66,55475th
$85,92890th
$62,423This org · 64th
p10$11,300
p25$25,936
p50$52,755
p75$66,554
p90$85,928
$62,423

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 NJ 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
Artlink Inc IN$219,091 Executive Dir. $61,908 $73,121 2024
Ten Thousand Villages NE$215,115 Executive Di $52,000 $64,492 2023
Nature's Best Photography Fund Inc VA$213,600 Director / President $10,984 $11,878 2024
Filter Photo Nfp IL$224,054 Executive Director $35,338 $38,911 2024
Gallery Route One CA$224,306 Executive Dir. $40,174 $38,854 2024
Martha's Vineyard Art Association MA$225,167 Gallery Dire $15,335 $15,890 2023
The Sculpture Center OH$226,726 Executive Di $66,626 $81,371 2023
Project Snap MI$205,925 Ceo $95,784 $110,731 2024
Maine Crafts Association ME$233,069 Executive Director $20 $24 2023
Japanese Embroidery Center Inc GA$201,901 Bd Of Directors $59,629 $67,152 2024
Vienna Arts Society Inc VA$235,835 Art Center D $15,000 $16,701 2023
Yeiser Art Center Inc KY$198,758 Exec Director $42,921 $53,173 2023
Open Studios Inc CO$238,827 Executive Director $55,000 $60,813 2023
Lexington Art League Inc KY$239,202 Executive Director $56,100 $65,766 2025
Kansas City Artists Coalition MO$243,347 Executive Director $48,752 $59,541 2023
The Alliance For American Quilts Inc NC$243,639 Executive Director $75,868 $87,800 2024
Clayart Guild Of The Hamptons Inc NY$245,843 Trustee $3,200 $3,239 2024
Associated Artists Of Pittsburgh PA$246,204 Executive Director $72,877 $83,803 2023
Wartists Inc VA$189,850 President $29,000 $31,361 2024
Indy Convergence Inc IN$187,607 Managing Director $12,445 $15,134 2023
Riverside Arts Center IL$186,596 Frmr Exec Dir $31,706 $35,944 2023
Sacramento Master Singers CA$250,238 Artistic Director $24,750 $24,644 2023
Espanola Valley Fiber Arts Center NM$186,150 Retail Manag $44,386 $53,469 2024
Village Art Club Inc AR$182,528 Director, Gallery Facilita $2,106 $2,651 2024
Seattle Architectural Foundation WA$176,098 Executive Director $78,875 $79,093 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NJ 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 NJ 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 default64th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)78th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted62nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted60th

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 (Rachel Heberling) 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 50 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A40), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $62,423 is reasonable (approximately the 64th 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.