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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Project Y Theatre Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 263881551
NY · NTEE A65
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Andrew Smith, Executive Director / CEO ($4,250) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 19 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 16th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Andrew Smith — reported title “Treasurer”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

19 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 19 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$376 total compensation of comparable organizations → $127,388 $4,250
$1,95910th
$7,93825th
$14,872Median
$23,10375th
$82,59290th
$4,250This org · 16th
p10$1,959
p25$7,938
p50$14,872
p75$23,103
p90$82,592
$4,250

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
Jaks Youth Theatre Company UT$80,761 President $4,500 $5,097 2023
Not So Common Players Inc NY$80,724 Board Member $2,000 $1,943 2024
Central Stage Theatre Of County Kitsap WA$85,801 Executive Dir. $12,504 $12,033 2024
Apples And Oranges Arts Inc CA$90,438 Artistic Director $137,245 $127,388 2024
Prime Productions MN$90,454 Co-artistic $7,500 $7,966 2024
Playing On Air Inc NY$71,866 Officer $60,641 $60,641 2023
Ardmore Little Theatre Inc OK$70,420 Office Staff $15,631 $19,048 2023
Towne Street Theatre CA$69,090 Secretary $10,000 $9,282 2024
Stage Aurora Theatrical Company Inc FL$95,085 Executive Director $16,400 $17,050 2023
Acting Naturally PA$95,376 Director $13,874 $14,872 2024
The Palmetto Opera SC$95,977 Treasurer $1,750 $1,963 2024
Reach Youth & Family Theatre IA$61,765 Executive Director $6,528 $7,910 2023
A Call To Conscience MO$58,342 Secretary $9,600 $11,252 2023
Salvage Vanguard Theater TX$107,275 Artistic Director $64,600 $71,512 2023
Denizen Theatre Inc NY$110,746 Secretary/treasurer $19,980 $19,407 2024
Chambersburg Community Theatre Inc PA$111,852 Managing Director $25,000 $26,798 2024
Exitheatre CA$113,764 Secretary/treasurer $18,000 $16,277 2025
Aquila Theatre Company NY$115,626 Artistic Director $134,120 $126,914 2025
Mud Creek Players Inc IN$117,062 Director $332 $376 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 default16th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)16th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted16th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted16th

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 (Andrew Smith) 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 19 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A65), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $4,250 is reasonable (approximately the 16th 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.