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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Gerald Arpino Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 264227869
IL · NTEE A60
FY ending 2023-09-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Charthel Arthur Estner, Executive Director / CEO ($6,750) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 61 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 11th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Charthel Arthur Estner — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

61 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 61 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$591 total compensation of comparable organizations → $103,314 $6,750
$6,33810th
$15,29025th
$31,071Median
$46,45075th
$69,49890th
$6,750This org · 11th
p10$6,338
p25$15,290
p50$31,071
p75$46,450
p90$69,498
$6,750

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
Chestnut Fine Arts Center Inc KS$162,453 Executive Director $77,737 $85,424 2023
Northern Lights Arts Council Inc ND$167,052 Executive Director $6,000 $6,338 2025
Nautilus Music Theater MN$168,127 President & Artistic Director $34,533 $33,712 2024
Dance Wisconsin Inc WI$172,236 Director $5,200 $5,228 2025
Inta Inc NY$149,778 Artistic Director $83,662 $76,898 2023
California Music Center CA$148,884 Execdir To 6 $42,461 $36,225 2024
Soli Chamber Ensemble TX$176,756 Managing Director $39,301 $37,839 2025
Songbird Multimedia And Performing Arts Foundation AR$176,810 President $17,925 $20,495 2023
Disco Riot CA$177,873 President $18,000 $14,961 2025
Phffft Company Inc WA$178,138 President $46,374 $41,021 2024
Boerne Performing Arts TX$146,986 Artistic/tech Coordinator $20,000 $19,766 2024
Manassas Community Chorale Inc VA$146,889 Executive Director And Vu Coordinator $9,171 $8,749 2024
Off Broadway Theatre Inc UT$178,792 Artistic Dir $43,440 $43,926 2024
I Sound Performing Arts CA$181,555 Executive Dir $3,500 $2,986 2024
51 Walden Inc MA$187,311 Secretary And Director $38,521 $33,318 2025
Youth Excellence Performing Arts Workshop OH$137,763 Executive Director $29,565 $30,938 2024
Instaballet OR$188,635 Executive Di $63,580 $56,831 2025
Arete Living Arts Foundation NY$191,016 Executive Director $3,854 $3,542 2023
Gabriel Chamber Ensemble PA$191,691 Exec Director $11,644 $11,472 2024
Brooklynone Productions Inc NY$192,847 Officer $27,470 $24,525 2024
Bay Area Omni Foundation For CA$192,946 President $35,200 $30,917 2023
Ra-ve Cultural Foundation Inc AR$195,135 Executive Director $31,416 $35,920 2023
Creative Arts Repertoire Ensemble MI$195,311 Director $7,500 $7,648 2024
The Golandsky Institute Inc NY$125,617 President $16,635 $15,290 2023
Studio Place Arts Inc VT$123,837 Executive Director $65,805 $65,439 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 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 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 default11th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)11th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted13th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted11th

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 (Charthel Arthur Estner) 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 61 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $6,750 is reasonable (approximately the 11th 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.