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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Chamber Music Society Of St Louis Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 300497851
MO · NTEE A68
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Marc Gordon, Executive Director / CEO ($67,250) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 177 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 69th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Marc Gordon — reported title “Executive & Artistic Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

177 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 177 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$532 total compensation of comparable organizations → $172,090 $67,250
$15,37110th
$32,58325th
$51,370Median
$72,07975th
$88,72590th
$67,250This org · 69th
p10$15,371
p25$32,583
p50$51,370
p75$72,079
p90$88,725
$67,250

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
Jazz At The Ballroom Inc CA$416,145 Executive Direc $2,414 $2,026 2023
Creative Ability Development Inc NY$420,918 Vice Chair/executive Director $83,488 $73,333 2023
Yakima Music En Accion WA$423,598 Executive Director $72,018 $60,877 2024
Willamette Jazz Society OR$423,685 Executive Dir. $33,061 $29,844 2023
Aimusic Us CA$424,303 Executive Director $90,750 $72,079 2025
Beyond Booking Inc NY$427,072 Executive Dir. $60,000 $51,190 2024
Vibe Of Portland OR$408,947 Executive Director, Founder, Board President $44,700 $39,193 2024
Windsync TX$428,641 Executive Director $54,027 $51,025 2024
Mariachi Spectacular De Albuquerque NM$430,288 Chief Executive Officer $64,996 $66,003 2024
Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra CA$405,189 President $40,000 $33,574 2023
Music In World Cultures Inc PA$432,155 President And Chair Of The Board $14,250 $13,417 2024
Ogden Friends Of Acoustic Music-ofoam UT$434,750 Executive Dir. $12,000 $11,938 2023
Tahoe School Of Music CA$435,812 Director $62,313 $50,802 2024
29 11 International Exchange MN$399,583 Executive Artistic Director/co-founder $49,075 $45,783 2024
Common Ground On The Hill Ltd MD$437,457 Executive Director $14,960 $13,205 2024
Choral Masterworks Festival Inc FL$397,541 Executive Director $59,815 $51,686 2025
Bach Concert Series Inc MD$397,487 Music Director $40,300 $35,573 2024
Redtone Records CA$395,896 Ed/pres/boar $14,230 $11,944 2023
We Make Noise Inc AZ$395,290 President $52,285 $47,475 2024
Music In Common Inc GA$395,049 Executive Dir. $60,000 $56,960 2024
Porchfest Dc DC$394,155 Co-executive Director $32,092 $27,374 2023
Greater Dallas Choral Society TX$442,475 Executive Dir. $34,500 $32,583 2024
Little Village Foundation CA$392,844 Executive Director $86,000 $72,184 2023
Juneau Jazz & Classics AK$390,873 Executive Di $73,253 $68,076 2023
Ted Brown Music Outreach WA$389,619 Executive Director $36,723 $31,042 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MO 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 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 default69th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)61st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted69th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted68th

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 (Marc Gordon) 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 177 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A68), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $67,250 is reasonable (approximately the 69th 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.