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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Paper Circle

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 311807281
OH · NTEE A25
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Barbara Ery, Executive Director / CEO ($19,215) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 19 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 47th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Barbara Ery — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

19 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 19 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$663 total compensation of comparable organizations → $68,818 $19,215
$2,03710th
$4,56525th
$20,875Median
$49,75475th
$58,44190th
$19,215This org · 47th
p10$2,037
p25$4,565
p50$20,875
p75$49,754
p90$58,441
$19,215

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
You Can Live History Inc CO$90,775 President $18,500 $16,268 2024
Unscripted TN$93,402 Executive Director $8,550 $8,242 2024
Livingston Center For Arts & MT$84,998 Executive Di $20,511 $20,875 2023
Highlands Art League Inc FL$95,039 Treasurer $3,720 $3,435 2022
Jazz Outreach Initiative NV$84,314 Directo Of Programming $36,000 $33,092 2024
Kaleidoscope School Of Fine Art Inc IL$80,819 Executive Director $6,135 $5,695 2023
Art Sphere Inc PA$80,355 Executive Director And Fou $64,632 $60,854 2023
Timeless Gifts IL$102,314 Executive Director $55,200 $49,767 2024
Memphis Cultural Arts Enrichment TN$75,000 President $60,000 $57,838 2024
Canto Vocal Programs A New York Nonprofit Corporation NY$70,305 Ceo $800 $663 2024
Queens World Film Initiative Inc NY$69,060 Co-founder & Artistic Director $2,880 $2,325 2025
Mag Foundation CA$66,969 President $63,448 $51,728 2023
Fermata Arts Foundation Inc CT$66,300 President $3,248 $2,875 2023
The National Foundation For Musical MN$65,780 President $12,000 $11,195 2023
Culture Encounters VA$64,009 Founderexecutive Director $1,000 $885 2024
Working Artists And The Greater Economy Inc NY$120,266 Core Organizer $48,396 $41,290 2023
The Walter Hive AZ$123,495 Executive Director $75,790 $68,818 2023
Shakespearean Youth Theater Company MN$124,596 Managing Director $36,000 $33,585 2023
Arts Access South Carolina SC$130,873 Executive Di $50,500 $49,741 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to OH cost of living and 2023 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 default47th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)47th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted47th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted47th

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 (Barbara Ery) 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 19 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A25), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $19,215 is reasonable (approximately the 47th 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.