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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 310537080
OH · NTEE A690
FY ending 2024-08-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Martin Jonathan, Executive Director / CEO ($552,330) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 81 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 57th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Martin Jonathan — reported title “PRESIDENT & CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

81 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 81 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$37,945 total compensation of comparable organizations → $1,010,636 $552,330
$204,21410th
$349,89525th
$490,392Median
$647,27475th
$862,41490th
$552,330This org · 57th
p10$204,214
p25$349,895
p50$490,392
p75$647,274
p90$862,414
$552,330

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 OH 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
Walker Art Center MN$53,518,372 Executive Director $525,475 $477,593 2025
Oregon Public Broadcasting OR$53,093,813 President & Ceo $603,696 $529,315 2024
National Trust For Local News CO$53,039,103 Ceo $386,485 $349,895 2024
Pbs Foundation VA$53,653,774 Executive Director $459,665 $408,237 2025
Mann Center For The Performing Arts PA$53,842,873 President & Ceo $678,731 $622,579 2025
🔒 76 more comparable organizations — included in the purchased report

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to OH 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 OH 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 default57th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)51st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted58th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted67th

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:

Ready-to-adopt board minutes — executive compensation

🔒 The complete minutes language — three numbered resolutions pre-filled with this organization, the 81-organization comparison, the date, and the percentile finding, ready to paste into your minutes — is included in the purchased report.

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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.