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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Center For Exploratory & Perceptual Arts

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 237442268
NY · NTEE A400
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 13, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Claire Leggett, Executive Director / CEO ($46,158) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 79 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 22nd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Claire Leggett — reported title “FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

79 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 79 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,146 total compensation of comparable organizations → $173,683 $46,158
$30,42910th
$51,96125th
$71,293Median
$85,28375th
$98,78790th
$46,158This org · 22nd
p10$30,429
p25$51,961
p50$71,293
p75$85,283
p90$98,787
$46,158

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 NY 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
Art Feminism Inc MD$407,503 Executive Director $93,320 $93,781 2024
Floyd Community Center For The Arts VA$412,595 Executive Director $58,117 $60,318 2024
The Center For Emerging Visual Artists Ltd PA$412,739 Executive Director $91,948 $101,473 2023
Wave Pool Corp OH$403,451 Interim Executive Director $71,738 $81,673 2024
Charlotte Art League Inc NC$402,149 Executive Dir. $13,077 $14,524 2024
Monira Foundation NJ$401,991 Director/president/exec. D $114,577 $109,961 2024
More Art Inc NY$424,215 Executive Dir. $40,000 $38,852 2024
Zocalo Public Square CA$391,536 Ceo $25,806 $23,953 2024
Western Montana Creative MT$390,199 Executive Di $59,523 $68,968 2024
Galveston Arts Center TX$433,471 Executive Director $54,250 $58,332 2024
Piedmont Craftsmen Inc NC$433,757 President An $47,125 $52,340 2024
Open Studio Project Inc IL$438,996 Executive Di $69,250 $71,293 2025
Athens Photographic Project OH$377,453 Exec Director $86,050 $100,860 2023
Los Angeles Art Association CA$442,183 Executive Dir. $92,800 $88,679 2023
Northeast Minneapolis Arts Assoc MN$445,132 Executive Director $75,354 $82,399 2023
Dallas Architecture Forum TX$448,181 Executive Director $95,000 $102,147 2024
Studio 23 MI$368,779 Executive Director $58,000 $66,251 2023
Teton Arts Council Inc ID$365,515 Executive Director $61,471 $70,290 2024
The Carving Studio & Sculpture Ctr VT$363,244 Executive Di $76,292 $84,979 2023
Craftstudies Inc VT$359,913 Executive Director $81,200 $85,587 2025
Oye Group Inc NY$357,335 Co-chairman $3,200 $3,108 2024
Wisconsin Museum Of Quilts & Fiber Arts Inc WI$462,757 Executive Director $79,064 $88,757 2024
Precita Eyes Muralists Association Inc CA$355,365 Executive Dir. $45,371 $43,356 2023
Iowa Arts In Education IA$464,535 Executive Director $57,001 $67,088 2024
Bountiful Davis Art Foundation UT$354,072 Executive Director $81,000 $89,111 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY 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 NY 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 default22nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)22nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted22nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted19th

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 (Claire Leggett) 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 13, 2026, comparing compensation against 79 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A40), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $46,158 is reasonable (approximately the 22nd 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 13, 2026.