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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

New Orleans Arts & Cultural Host

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 311696655
LA · NTEE A68
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jackie Harris, Executive Director / CEO ($42,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 173 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 55th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

173 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 173 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$103 total compensation of comparable organizations → $136,460 $42,000
$10,31710th
$22,12525th
$38,191Median
$55,96475th
$77,50990th
$42,000This org · 55th
p10$10,317
p25$22,125
p50$38,191
p75$55,964
p90$77,509
$42,000

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 LA 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
Girls Rock Des Moines IA$265,402 Executive Director $33,280 $33,093 2024
The Claflin Hill Music Performance MA$265,767 Exec & Artistic Director $60,324 $50,684 2023
The Impact Project NY$265,968 Director $59,250 $48,622 2024
International Tuba Euphonium Association CT$266,921 Executive Director $24,996 $20,736 2025
Renovation In Music Education DC$262,501 President $119,086 $97,706 2023
Music City Artist Development CA$267,297 Executive Director $6,955 $5,454 2024
Envelop CA$267,859 Executive Dir. $106,000 $83,124 2024
Border Crossing MN$261,798 Exec Director $85,906 $75,102 2025
Etm-massachusetts Inc MA$260,492 Exective Director $94,688 $79,556 2023
Swan Scaling Walls A Note At A Time PA$269,848 Executive Director $29,330 $27,347 2023
Rock Central Inc WI$259,349 Executive Di $18,886 $17,912 2024
Music In Place CA$258,414 Mkting Adm Off. $39,708 $31,139 2024
School Of American Music MI$272,137 Director/teacher $12,000 $11,580 2023
Mencius Society For The Arts Inc NY$256,991 Executive Di $34,793 $27,816 2025
Endless Mountain Music Festival Inc PA$272,950 Executive Director $17,000 $15,396 2024
Opus Community Music School Inc MD$254,890 Executive Director/teacher $47,417 $40,259 2024
Uil Music Region 24 TX$274,907 Asst Exec Secretary $11,028 $9,760 2025
Ladies Musical Club Of Seattle WA$274,987 Executive Director $96,000 $78,055 2024
Kingston Chamber Music Festival At The RI$275,012 Executive Director (Former) $60,000 $52,249 2024
Guardians Of Sound PA$254,493 Executive Director $48,200 $43,652 2024
American Harp Society Inc MA$254,201 Executive Director $59,600 $50,075 2023
Copper Street Brass Quintet Non Profit MN$277,682 Executive Program Director $54,000 $47,208 2025
Bach Society Of Minnesota MN$277,880 Executive Director $52,800 $47,380 2024
Cormont Music NH$279,064 Executive Dir. $14,600 $12,243 2024
Omaha Girls Rock Inc NE$279,075 Executive Director $33,205 $32,434 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to LA 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 LA 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 default55th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)47th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted56th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted55th

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 (Jackie Harris) 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 173 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A68), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $42,000 is reasonable (approximately the 55th 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.