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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Vedanta Institute Houston

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 274350836
TX · NTEE A20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Joseph Emmett, Executive Director / CEO ($8,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 36 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 22nd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

36 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 36 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $252,699 $8,500
$4,60410th
$11,74625th
$30,700Median
$45,67075th
$61,78290th
$8,500This org · 22nd
p10$4,604
p25$11,746
p50$30,700
p75$45,670
p90$61,782
$8,500

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 TX 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
Beverlys Exhibitions Corp NY$96,523 Creative Director $6,100 $5,510 2023
Society Of Animal Artists Inc CO$91,564 Executive Direc $49,000 $45,623 2024
Noise Salon Inc MA$100,002 Executive Director/ Treasurer $15,914 $14,296 2023
Palacios House Of Arts LA$88,100 Executive Director $19,123 $21,050 2023
509 Cultural Center CA$88,051 Co-executive Director $50,000 $41,924 2024
Sentimental Journey Inc PA$87,602 Executive Coordinator $9,909 $9,595 2024
The Center For Less Unpleasant NY$86,910 President $288,000 $252,699 2024
The Corda Foundation NC$103,285 Treasurer $35,000 $36,153 2023
Bird Island Cultural Centre MN$103,456 Director $1,800 $1,727 2024
Leesburg Art Festival Inc FL$83,828 Executive Di $21,731 $19,823 2024
Committee For A Better New Orleans LA$107,720 Executive Director $80,000 $85,537 2024
Center For Reflection Education And Action Incorporated CT$80,446 Executive Director $45,000 $40,969 2024
Artlands Creative CA$80,166 Executive Director $25,000 $21,581 2023
The Arts Project Inc MD$110,552 Executive Director $24,559 $22,294 2024
Belton Center For The Arts SC$111,131 Executive Director $35,077 $35,533 2024
Japan House La Foundation CA$111,910 Ceo $6,000 $5,031 2024
El Paso International & Cultural Arts TX$76,381 Artistic Director $4,000 $4,000 2023
In Tandem Arts Inc VT$75,578 Executive Director $45,983 $46,269 2023
Asian Resource Center Of San Antoni TX$75,000 President $1 $1 2023
Alki Art Fair WA$74,872 Rental & Volunteer Director $8,000 $6,954 2024
Dumbo Film Festival NY$74,805 Ceo/director $13,797 $12,463 2023
Chicago Fashion Development IL$114,325 Executive Director $40,000 $39,312 2023
Women Shoah-jewish Placemaking NC$71,779 Executive Director $39,930 $40,062 2024
Grippo Stage Company Inc IL$67,129 President/artistic Director $30,000 $29,484 2023
Chsee Inc NY$123,771 Treasurer $4,760 $4,176 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TX 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 TX 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 default22nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)22nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted28th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted22nd

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 (Joseph Emmett) 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 36 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $8,500 is reasonable (approximately the 22nd 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.