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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Tulsa Youth Symphony

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 237431002
OK · NTEE A69Z
FY ending 2023-05-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Raeann Dowd, Executive Director / CEO ($28,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 78 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 15th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

78 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 78 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$517 total compensation of comparable organizations → $126,871 $28,500
$21,19010th
$37,58025th
$53,795Median
$67,09575th
$79,60290th
$28,500This org · 15th
p10$21,190
p25$37,580
p50$53,795
p75$67,095
p90$79,602
$28,500

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 OK 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
Journey Arts PA$471,130 Exec Directo $71,807 $61,537 2025
Bremerton Symphony Association WA$471,172 Music Direct $68,055 $53,747 2024
Corning Elmira Musical Arts Inc NY$471,515 Executive Dir. $72,643 $56,410 2025
Philadelphia Sinfonia Association PA$469,445 Executive Di $61,250 $55,471 2023
Cayuga Chamber Orchestra Inc NY$467,713 Executive Director $56,860 $45,323 2024
Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra GA$475,812 President $3,448 $3,058 2024
National Symphony Orch Assn Of Washington Dc DC$455,325 Executive Director $8,827 $6,833 2024
The Hendersonville Symphony NC$486,821 Executive Di $66,000 $60,155 2024
Orchestra Miami Inc FL$452,261 Artistic/exec D $18,000 $14,916 2024
Aiken Symphony Orchestra SC$446,451 Executive Director $37,156 $33,311 2025
Inside The Orchestra CO$500,639 Exec Director $115,544 $97,730 2024
Street Symphony Project Inc CA$502,791 Ceo $113,108 $86,154 2024
Huntington Symphony Orchestra WV$437,997 Executive Di $47,500 $45,366 2024
Lagrange Symphony Orchestra Inc GA$437,714 Executive Di $60,000 $53,217 2024
Florida Orchestra Association Inc FL$506,095 Executive Director $43,400 $37,026 2023
Tuscaloosa Symphony Association Inc AL$432,019 Executive Director $69,652 $68,336 2023
Citymusic Cleveland Inc OH$430,152 Executive Director $75,000 $72,141 2023
Academy Of Music Of The Paderewski Symphony Orchestra IL$514,194 Bundyra $36,388 $31,556 2024
Bridge Leadership Academy MO$426,622 Ceo $83,667 $80,477 2023
Oregon Symphony Association In Salem OR$424,281 President $24,474 $20,640 2023
Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra Inc PA$415,379 President $112,482 $98,946 2024
The Orchestra & Community Choral NV$414,291 Executiveartistic Director $82,532 $72,974 2024
Student Orchestras Of Greater Olympia WA$529,426 Executive Director $39,813 $31,442 2024
Laporte County Symphony Orchestra IN$531,579 Executive Di $60,900 $55,190 2025
Idaho State Civic Symphony ID$409,838 Executive Di $551 $517 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to OK 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 OK 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 default15th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)15th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted15th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted13th

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 (Raeann Dowd) 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 78 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A69), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $28,500 is reasonable (approximately the 15th 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.