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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Musical Theatre Academy Of Orange County

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 330582746
CA · NTEE P20
FY ending 2025-08-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of James Hippenstiel, Executive Director / CEO ($72,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 108 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 63rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: James Hippenstiel — reported title “EXECTIVE ARTIST”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

108 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 108 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$317 total compensation of comparable organizations → $185,636 $72,000
$9,52310th
$30,98025th
$54,908Median
$93,99675th
$117,56590th
$72,000This org · 63rd
p10$9,523
p25$30,980
p50$54,908
p75$93,996
p90$117,565
$72,000

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 CA 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
California Immunization Coalition CA$402,482 Executive Dir. $97,376 $99,952 2024
Hunt Motors Inc CA$400,032 Principal Ceo $300 $317 2023
South Central United CA$404,074 Director $96,000 $101,451 2023
Lamorinda Village Inc CA$408,442 Executive Director $87,800 $90,123 2024
M3nd Project CA$394,229 Secretary $74,860 $76,841 2024
Greater Good International CA$393,723 Executive Dir. $112,670 $115,651 2024
The Bay Area Mural Program Inc CA$411,111 Executive Di $137,705 $145,523 2023
Assuaged Foundation Inc CA$411,679 Vice President $3,150 $3,233 2024
Core Contributors Group Inc CA$390,000 Vice President $2,520 $3,135 2020
Blue Humming Therapy CA$389,397 President Ceo $43,620 $44,774 2024
Fresh Producers CA$386,864 Director $14,773 $15,164 2024
Association Of California Comm CA$384,655 Interim Ed $104,695 $107,465 2024
Humanity Way Inc CA$382,982 President $75,698 $79,996 2023
Chasing 7 Dreams CA$381,906 President $75,843 $77,850 2024
Monthly Miracles CA$381,822 President $75,000 $76,984 2024
Mothers-in-action Inc CA$422,398 Board President & Ceo $81,000 $96,244 2021
World Voices Media CA$423,900 Executive Di $172,685 $177,254 2024
Cei Foundation CA$379,212 Executive Director Foundat $100,329 $102,984 2024
All Positives Possible CA$426,122 Executive Director $111,455 $117,783 2023
Golden Rule Services CA$376,361 Fndr & Ex. Dir. $65,402 $69,115 2023
Able Community Development Foundation CA$375,244 President/ceo $70,000 $71,852 2024
Above The Rest Academy CA$428,548 President $76,500 $78,524 2024
Siskiyou Food Assistance Corporation CA$374,141 Executive Director $17,760 $17,760 2025
Life Builders Incorporated CA$371,695 Ceo/president $135,206 $138,783 2024
Youth Recovery Connections CA$371,657 President & Ceo $92,930 $98,206 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA cost of living and 2025 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 CA 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 default63rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)63rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted63rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted61st

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 (James Hippenstiel) 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 108 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (P20) + CA + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $72,000 is reasonable (approximately the 63rd 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.