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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Salt Lake Music School Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 263463598
UT · NTEE A25
FY ending 2024-08-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Eugene Watanabe, Executive Director / CEO ($4,089) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 157 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 6th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Eugene Watanabe — reported title “EXECUTIVE D”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

157 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 157 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$150 total compensation of comparable organizations → $205,839 $4,089
$11,68810th
$29,75725th
$53,840Median
$72,08175th
$86,42590th
$4,089This org · 6th
p10$11,688
p25$29,757
p50$53,840
p75$72,081
p90$86,425
$4,089

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 UT 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
Nw Film Camp CA$340,757 President $9,562 $8,067 2024
Inclusive Arts Vermont Inc VT$337,905 Executive Di $74,200 $71,090 2025
Hogfish Maine ME$340,928 Executive Director $3,570 $3,493 2024
Lovewell Institute For The Creative Arts Inc FL$336,134 Employee $63,000 $59,534 2023
Coupeville Arts Center WA$344,715 Executive Director $55,170 $49,687 2023
Celebration Barn Theater ME$330,876 Executive Artistic Director $62,000 $62,451 2023
Arts In Schools Collaborative PA$329,237 President $13,842 $13,886 2023
The Music Education Initiative AR$350,517 Founder $96,195 $108,768 2023
Arts In Reach-encouraging Growth NH$328,246 Executive Di $39,437 $35,579 2024
Fine Art Miracles Inc PA$350,924 President $77,420 $75,435 2024
Signal Return Inc MI$327,321 Artistic Director $72,422 $73,037 2024
Ez Kids Creativity Shell TX$326,040 Facilities Dir $45,000 $43,981 2024
Outerarts Maryland Inc MD$325,261 Executive Di $65,000 $59,375 2024
Moezart Productions Inc AZ$353,787 Presidentceo $20,400 $19,169 2024
Sleepy Hollow Theatre & Arts Park ND$324,690 President $28,000 $30,909 2023
Community Rejuvenation Project Inc CA$355,178 President & Ceo $70,460 $61,202 2023
Thru Guidance Ministries Inc CA$355,744 Executive Director $139,571 $117,755 2024
Palm Springs Modern Committee CA$322,975 Exec Director $85,000 $69,865 2025
Gulf Beach Art Center FL$321,701 Administrator $32,200 $29,556 2024
1111 A Creative Collective CA$321,147 President $38,875 $33,767 2023
Rochester Construction Training NY$321,061 Executive Di $88,825 $76,402 2025
The Art Experience Inc MI$358,089 Executive Director $46,165 $46,557 2024
Harmony Project Phoenix AZ$320,409 Secretary/ex $90,000 $87,067 2023
Tizmoret Inc MA$361,017 President $2,000 $1,756 2024
Access Art FL$317,475 Director $13,000 $11,932 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to UT 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 UT 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 default6th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)5th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted6th

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 (Eugene Watanabe) 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 157 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A25), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $4,089 is reasonable (approximately the 6th 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.