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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Opus Community Music School Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 271033573
MD · NTEE A68
FY ending 2024-09-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Pamela D Wiswakarma, Executive Director / CEO ($47,417) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 166 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 55th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Pamela D Wiswakarma — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/TEACHER”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

166 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 166 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$121 total compensation of comparable organizations → $160,723 $47,417
$11,70310th
$24,83125th
$44,289Median
$65,06675th
$88,82290th
$47,417This org · 55th
p10$11,703
p25$24,831
p50$44,289
p75$65,066
p90$88,822
$47,417

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 MD 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
Guardians Of Sound PA$254,493 Executive Director $48,200 $51,413 2024
American Harp Society Inc MA$254,201 Executive Director $59,600 $58,978 2023
Mencius Society For The Arts Inc NY$256,991 Executive Di $34,793 $32,762 2025
Music In Place CA$258,414 Mkting Adm Off. $39,708 $36,675 2024
Rock Central Inc WI$259,349 Executive Di $18,886 $21,097 2024
Montana Chamber Music Society MT$249,956 Director $108 $121 2025
Mallarme Chamber Players Inc NC$249,676 Artistic Director $77,004 $85,105 2024
Contemporaneous Inc NY$249,614 Director $30,057 $29,051 2024
Etm-massachusetts Inc MA$260,492 Exective Director $94,688 $93,701 2023
Border Crossing MN$261,798 Exec Director $85,906 $88,455 2025
Asheville Music School Sound Education NC$247,759 Ex Officio $43,403 $46,733 2025
Renovation In Music Education DC$262,501 President $119,086 $115,079 2023
Campbell Learning Center Inc TX$246,185 Director $58,994 $64,986 2023
Colorado Music Bridge CO$245,716 Co-exec Director $18,000 $19,007 2023
Music Heals International CA$245,634 Founder/exec $44,550 $41,147 2024
New Orleans Arts & Cultural Host LA$264,844 Executive Di $42,000 $49,468 2024
Asociacion Suzuki De Puerto Rico Inc PR$244,801 Administrator $35,132 $35,132 2024
Girls Rock Des Moines IA$265,402 Executive Director $33,280 $38,977 2024
The Claflin Hill Music Performance MA$265,767 Exec & Artistic Director $60,324 $59,695 2023
The Impact Project NY$265,968 Director $59,250 $57,268 2024
International Tuba Euphonium Association CT$266,921 Executive Director $24,996 $24,422 2025
Music City Artist Development CA$267,297 Executive Director $6,955 $6,424 2024
Envelop CA$267,859 Executive Dir. $106,000 $97,904 2024
Crescendo Inc CT$241,857 Founding And Artistic Director $30,000 $30,087 2024
Poss Music Works Nfp IL$240,849 Executive Director $20,000 $20,489 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MD 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 MD 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 default55th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)58th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted56th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted55th

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 (Pamela D Wiswakarma) 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 166 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A68), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $47,417 is reasonable (approximately the 55th 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.