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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Danceworks Chicago Inc Nfp

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 260281932
IL · NTEE A62
FY ending 2025-07-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Julie Nakagawa, Executive Director / CEO ($62,246) 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 84th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Julie Nakagawa — reported title “Executive Dir.”, 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

$294 total compensation of comparable organizations → $147,567 $62,246
$5,55410th
$13,99425th
$28,999Median
$52,65075th
$78,01590th
$62,246This org · 84th
p10$5,554
p25$13,994
p50$28,999
p75$52,650
p90$78,015
$62,246

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 IL 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
Calidanza Dance Company CA$185,250 C/o $18,575 $16,746 2024
Anikaya Akhra Inc MA$185,771 Artistic Director $9,700 $9,101 2024
Center For Modern Dance Education Inc NJ$180,036 Artistic Director $21,150 $19,208 2025
Nca Dance Studio CA$188,340 Director $4,421 $4,104 2023
Keigwin And Company Inc NY$190,606 Executive Di $51,458 $49,983 2023
Thin Man Dance Inc NY$175,747 Board Member/executive And Artistic Director $60,000 $58,280 2023
Fist & Heel Performance Group NY$191,790 Executive Director $35,800 $33,776 2024
Wild Space Inc WI$173,970 Managing Dir $26,594 $28,999 2024
Ballet Des Ameriques School & Company Inc NY$195,967 Pres/exec Director $33,866 $31,951 2024
Vangeline Theater Inc NY$167,010 Artistic Director, Board Member, Teacher $58,100 $56,435 2023
Steamboat Dance Theatre CO$166,190 Executive Dir. $28,585 $28,618 2024
Huntington Dance Theatre Ltd WV$203,908 Studio Director $11,600 $13,114 2024
Leap Of Faith Arts Ministries IL$204,024 Director $18,819 $19,887 2023
Edge School Of The Arts Dance Legacy Inc NY$204,650 Director $80,000 $77,706 2023
Eryc Taylor Dance Incorporated NY$205,752 President $24,700 $23,992 2023
Arts Live Theatre Inc AR$206,979 Executive Director $42,760 $50,183 2024
Nrithya Sangeeth IL$206,990 Officer $90,000 $95,110 2023
Mashup Contemporary Dance Company CA$158,587 Executive Direcor $9,728 $8,770 2024
Flamenco Denver CO$156,978 Executive Dir. $55,434 $55,498 2024
Traffic Jam Inc IL$210,150 President $9,895 $10,157 2024
Heart Of Dance MN$212,823 Interim Executive Director $47,878 $49,395 2024
American Dance Machine For The 21st Century NY$153,425 President $5,250 $5,099 2023
Jon Lehrer Dance Inc NY$216,161 Artistic Director/board Member $36,800 $33,825 2025
Black Label Movement MN$216,725 President $13,327 $13,395 2025
Pack Dance MO$216,838 Executive Director $84,078 $92,978 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL 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 IL 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 default84th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)82nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted84th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted84th

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 (Julie Nakagawa) 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 79 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A62), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $62,246 is reasonable (approximately the 84th 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.