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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Downtown Springfield Community

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 272922629
MO · NTEE A65
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Mike Stevens, Executive Director / CEO ($65,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 324 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 86th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

324 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 324 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$636 total compensation of comparable organizations → $127,161 $65,000
$9,60810th
$24,69525th
$42,981Median
$55,87175th
$69,99590th
$65,000This org · 86th
p10$9,608
p25$24,695
p50$42,981
p75$55,871
p90$69,995
$65,000

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 MO 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
Caborca Inc NY$413,336 Co-president $64,217 $54,787 2023
Macguffin Theatre And Film Company PA$413,361 Artistic Dir $80,214 $71,467 2025
Chico Theater Company Inc CA$412,854 Executive Dir. $138,005 $106,467 2025
The Theatre Company Of Bcs TX$411,951 Executive Director $60,000 $56,667 2023
The Point Theater Inc IN$414,473 Artistic Dir $68,462 $66,210 2024
The 24 Hour Company NY$414,726 Artistic Dir $58,034 $49,512 2023
Great Arizona Puppet Theater Inc AZ$411,157 President $42,404 $38,503 2023
Civic Theatre Of Greater Lafayette IN$409,937 Prod Artisti $56,400 $56,155 2023
Playwrights Foundation Inc CA$409,712 Exec Artisti $57,051 $45,178 2024
Gas Lamp Inc NJ$417,322 Artistic Director $30,058 $24,612 2024
Puppet Co MD$417,430 Executive Director $55,000 $47,155 2024
Theatrikos Theatre Company AZ$408,875 Executive Dir. $60,264 $54,720 2023
Afterwork Theater Inc NY$407,873 Executive Dir. $71,750 $59,458 2024
Center Stage Theatrical Productions CA$419,146 Artistic Dir $66,687 $52,809 2024
Time & Space Limited Theatre Company Inc NY$419,361 Secretary/treasurer $40,810 $33,818 2024
Community Theater Inc AL$419,548 Board Member $36,398 $36,061 2024
Rising Youth Theatre AZ$419,761 Producing Artistic Collaborator $43,560 $39,553 2023
Haddonfield Plays And Players NJ$406,428 Managing Artistic Director $34,800 $28,494 2024
Skylight Theatre Company CA$405,316 Executive Director $85,000 $67,310 2024
Francis Wilson Playhouse Inc FL$421,112 1st Vp $8,200 $6,882 2025
Rocklin Community Theatre CA$422,636 Executive Director $22,709 $17,983 2024
Yellow Tree Theatre MN$403,540 Executive Artistic Director $66,128 $58,378 2025
Timothy Mooney Repertory Theatre MI$422,982 President And Executive Direc $51,000 $48,275 2024
Lukaba Productions IL$402,338 Executive Director $75,000 $67,618 2024
Theatre33 WA$402,026 Vice President $25,602 $21,641 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MO 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 MO 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 default86th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)75th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted88th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted85th

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 (Mike Stevens) 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 324 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A65), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $65,000 is reasonable (approximately the 86th 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.