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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Wilmington Ballet Academy Of The

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 261861300
DE · NTEE A62
FY ending 2023-08-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Benjamin Sterling Cannon, Executive Director / CEO ($56,650) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 123 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 75th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Benjamin Sterling Cannon — reported title “EXECUTIVE AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

123 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 123 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$279 total compensation of comparable organizations → $140,204 $56,650
$12,92510th
$23,24425th
$38,085Median
$57,16875th
$78,11390th
$56,650This org · 75th
p10$12,925
p25$23,244
p50$38,085
p75$57,168
p90$78,113
$56,650

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 DE 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
Jess Curtisgravity Inc CA$341,407 Director/exec. Dir. (Starting Mar.) $47,535 $40,717 2024
Diversity Of Dance Inc NY$334,776 Artistic Director $15,825 $14,604 2023
Robert Moses Kin CA$333,756 Artistic Dir. $10,868 $9,069 2025
Lake Tahoe Dance Collective CA$344,486 Exec/artist Dir $28,667 $24,556 2024
Dimensions Dance Company MO$328,909 President $69,500 $75,178 2023
Threads Dance Project MN$328,049 Executive Director $46,325 $45,408 2024
Santa Barbara Festival Ballet CA$326,642 Conservatory Director $17,262 $14,787 2024
Afro Brazil Arts Inc NY$324,806 Board Chair, President $87,880 $78,775 2024
Haitian American Museum Of Chicago IL$352,725 Founder Ceo $31,731 $30,946 2024
Friends Of Olympia Station Inc CA$324,338 Executive Dir. $60,000 $50,070 2025
Latsky Dance Inc NY$324,119 Treasurer $63,500 $58,602 2023
The Pop-up Project TN$321,591 Executive Director $51,923 $54,141 2024
Race Dance Company OK$355,787 Executive Director $33,600 $35,756 2025
Chicago National Association Of IL$356,604 Principal $14,000 $14,057 2023
Central Indiana Dance Ensemble IN$359,628 Artistic Director $21,900 $22,319 2025
Flyaway Productions CA$360,501 Director $40,241 $34,469 2024
Kairos Alive MN$312,347 Executive Director $51,292 $51,761 2023
1520 Arts UT$312,275 Ceo $30,525 $31,907 2023
Motion Pacific Dance Inc CA$365,970 President $17,955 $15,380 2024
Chicago Dance Health Fund IL$309,642 Executive Dir. $81,397 $81,726 2023
Salt Contemporary Dance Inc UT$370,480 Admin. Direc $30,700 $32,090 2023
Modern Motion NJ$371,139 Executive Dir. $51,345 $45,476 2024
Moving Theater NY$306,167 Artist $18,950 $17,488 2023
Rockford Dance Company IL$306,069 Director $13,305 $13,359 2023
Dance Heginbotham Inc NY$372,989 Artistic Dir $14,675 $12,816 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to DE 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 DE 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 default75th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)72nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted75th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted75th

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 (Benjamin Sterling Cannon) 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 123 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A62), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $56,650 is reasonable (approximately the 75th 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.