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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Polk Arts Alliance Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 300264417
FL · NTEE A20
FY ending 2024-09-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Daryl Ward, Executive Director / CEO ($50,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 299 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 56th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Daryl Ward — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

299 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 299 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$300 total compensation of comparable organizations → $305,023 $50,000
$8,92210th
$25,38525th
$44,361Median
$64,74175th
$82,36190th
$50,000This org · 56th
p10$8,922
p25$25,385
p50$44,361
p75$64,741
p90$82,361
$50,000

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 FL 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
Waldos And Company PA$251,012 Executive Dir. $24,000 $25,477 2024
Instituto Mazatlan Bellas Artes CA$251,111 Secretary $35,664 $33,750 2023
Avon Hills Folk School MN$250,182 Executive Director $79,296 $83,406 2024
Elk River Arts & Lectures MT$252,132 Executive Di $45,150 $51,807 2024
Fire Island Artist Residency Incorporated NY$252,169 Executive Director $48,500 $46,652 2024
Arts In Motion Studio West Michigan MI$252,632 Executive Director $52,000 $57,134 2024
Arts For All Inc NY$248,714 Executive Director $26,250 $25,995 2023
Brasarte The Damasceno Brazilian Cultural Exchange CA$253,770 Executive Director $11,500 $10,299 2025
Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation Inc GA$254,029 Executive Di $11,735 $12,560 2024
Tres Doux Foundation LA$247,275 Executive Director $63,000 $73,845 2024
Ecoarts Of Lake County CA$254,901 Executive Di $43,775 $41,426 2023
The Sunshine Center Inc NY$246,329 Ceo/secretar $42,750 $41,121 2024
New Mexico Advocates For The Arts NM$255,053 Director $10,460 $12,330 2023
Contemporary Art Group CA$255,236 Executive Director $62,500 $59,146 2023
Palmo Center For Peace & Education OR$255,475 Presdient $57,946 $58,974 2023
Cultural Arts Coalition Inc FL$245,708 Executive Director $45,192 $45,192 2024
Cite Des Arts LA$245,479 Executive Director $40,000 $46,886 2024
Sephardic Heritage International DC$255,964 Executive Director $20,833 $19,460 2024
Blue Sage Center For The Arts CO$256,184 Executive Di $43,577 $44,479 2024
Canvas Institute NY$244,903 Executive Director $45,000 $44,564 2023
Northern California Music & Art Culture Center CA$256,509 Executive Director $48,000 $44,121 2024
Firestone Park Cultural And Custodi OH$256,796 President $3,000 $3,382 2024
Autumn House Press PA$244,505 Editor In Ch $56,207 $59,666 2024
New Orleans Academy Of Ophthalmology LA$257,218 Executive Director $53,978 $65,138 2023
Skabob House WA$243,946 Treasurer $4,800 $4,456 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to FL 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 FL 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 default56th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)58th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted56th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted54th

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 (Daryl Ward) 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 299 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $50,000 is reasonable (approximately the 56th 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.