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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Deaf Spotlight

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 275059109
WA · NTEE A20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Patty Liang, Executive Director / CEO ($84,739) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 317 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 81st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Patty Liang — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

317 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 317 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$315 total compensation of comparable organizations → $161,040 $84,739
$12,36510th
$34,25725th
$58,295Median
$77,61375th
$94,22090th
$84,739This org · 81st
p10$12,365
p25$34,257
p50$58,295
p75$77,613
p90$94,220
$84,739

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 WA 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
Inwood Art Works Inc NY$353,982 Chairman $55,000 $57,151 2023
Bailey's Cafe Inc NY$353,023 Executive Di $18,750 $19,483 2023
Nars Foundation Inc NY$355,287 Founding Director $43,002 $44,683 2023
Coalition For African Americans In The Performing Arts MD$355,440 Executive Director $30,000 $32,252 2023
Root Cause Research Center Inc KY$355,460 President $23,999 $28,799 2024
Wide Open Walls CA$352,334 President $72,000 $71,494 2023
Herencia Mariachi Academy CA$355,883 Instructor $80,458 $77,600 2024
Allied Arts Association WA$356,635 Scholarships $7,560 $7,560 2024
Juan De Fuca Festival Of The Arts Inc WA$349,530 Executive Director $62,976 $62,976 2024
The Summer Solstice Celebration Inc CA$358,935 Executive Dir. $60,000 $57,869 2024
The Brooklyn Steppers Inc NY$359,620 Executive Director $41,500 $40,806 2025
Space On The Farminc NY$359,689 Executive Director (Left 2024) $70,750 $71,408 2024
Do It For The Love CA$348,176 Executive Director $109,774 $105,874 2024
Summit Artspace OH$359,966 Executive Di $69,197 $84,279 2023
In A Perfect World CA$347,735 Founder/pres $96,320 $92,898 2024
Mid India Christian Mission FL$360,298 Executive Director $91,008 $98,313 2023
Give Music Inc MA$347,415 President $33,800 $33,051 2025
Ludington Area Arts Council MI$347,252 Executive Director $64,967 $77,111 2023
The Spark CO$362,046 Ed $12,190 $13,056 2024
The Community Festival OH$345,764 Treasurer $3,000 $3,654 2023
Hope Creates MO$345,689 Executive Director $60,005 $70,986 2024
Luma 8 IL$362,280 President $121,752 $133,693 2024
Roxy Bremerton WA$363,396 Executive Director $72,459 $72,459 2024
Camden Fireworks Incorporated NJ$363,657 Executive Director $62,414 $64,081 2023
Legends Do Live TX$364,008 Director $27,083 $30,259 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WA 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 WA 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 default81st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)89th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted82nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted80th

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 (Patty Liang) 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 317 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $84,739 is reasonable (approximately the 81st 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.