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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Heart For Dance

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 300198691
MI · NTEE A62
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Leslie Glendening, Executive Director / CEO ($26,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 131 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 37th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Leslie Glendening — 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

131 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 131 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$273 total compensation of comparable organizations → $136,931 $26,000
$9,42510th
$18,10925th
$33,371Median
$50,55675th
$74,07390th
$26,000This org · 37th
p10$9,425
p25$18,109
p50$33,371
p75$50,556
p90$74,073
$26,000

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 MI 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
Danceability Inc NY$278,210 Executive Di $58,865 $53,057 2023
Soul To Sole Choreography CA$276,490 Secretary $26,316 $22,016 2024
Bare Bait Dance MT$275,622 Executive Di $30,001 $31,331 2024
South Carolina Summer Dance Conservatory SC$275,580 Artistic Director/ceo $32,070 $33,371 2023
Layerhythm Productions Inc NY$283,841 President $46,271 $40,509 2024
Knickerbocker Cotillion Inc NJ$284,220 Executive Dir. $38,000 $32,871 2024
The Mahea Uchiyama Center For CA$272,731 Director $65,462 $54,765 2024
Headlong Dance Theater Inc PA$284,717 President $45,000 $46,597 2022
Dynamic Forms Inc NY$271,786 Founder, Executive & Artistic Director $156,410 $136,931 2024
Lubovitch Dance Foundation Inc NY$271,782 Executive Director/chief Financial Officer $112,433 $101,339 2023
Celebrate The Beat CO$285,601 Managing Dir. $61,250 $56,901 2024
Indiana Dance Coaches Association I IN$271,531 President $5,000 $5,260 2023
Focus Dance Corporation FL$271,128 Secretary $5,893 $5,363 2024
Uptown Dance Company TX$286,613 Executive Director $33,350 $32,321 2024
Abhinaya Dance Company Of San Jose CA$286,824 Secretary $7,500 $6,460 2023
Keane Sense Of Rhythm Inc MN$286,852 Executive Director $60,902 $58,303 2024
Chicago Korean Dance Company IL$270,390 President $30,000 $29,418 2023
Dance Moves Stl MO$287,414 Executive Director $58,000 $57,982 2025
Pioneer Winter Collective Inc FL$287,596 Executive Director $43,529 $40,788 2023
Saratoga Springs Youth Ballet Inc NY$290,227 Chairwoman $55,638 $48,709 2024
Boston Dance Theater MA$265,217 Ex-officio $58,073 $50,559 2024
Arena Dances Inc MN$263,987 Artistic Dir $29,800 $27,793 2025
Hedwig Dances Inc IL$258,348 Artistic Dir $65,000 $61,911 2024
Ginger Brown's Academy Of Performing Art GA$258,284 Director $5,694 $5,710 2023
Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre IL$299,861 Artistic Dir. $44,604 $41,389 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MI 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 MI 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 default37th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)34th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted37th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted37th

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 (Leslie Glendening) 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 131 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A62), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $26,000 is reasonable (approximately the 37th 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.