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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Festival Music Society Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 356068649
IN · NTEE A68Z
FY ending 2024-09-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Darrin Sorley, Executive Director / CEO ($22,800) 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 68th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Darrin Sorley — reported title “MANAGING DIRECTOR”, 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

$1,007 total compensation of comparable organizations → $87,469 $22,800
$2,98210th
$8,43725th
$15,973Median
$27,95075th
$36,03790th
$22,800This org · 68th
p10$2,982
p25$8,437
p50$15,973
p75$27,950
p90$36,037
$22,800

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 IN 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
Agc Of Oklahoma Education Foundation OK$82,641 Executive Director $13,188 $14,178 2023
Chamber Music Society Of MN$72,513 Executive Di $27,500 $25,767 2024
Russian Chamber Art Society VA$70,860 Treasurer, Director $3,500 $3,299 2023
Music For Autism CA$87,168 Executive Director $35,744 $30,133 2023
International Jazz Day Az AZ$87,344 Executive Dir. $18,215 $16,612 2024
Spokane Chamber Music Association WA$90,126 Marketing Director $11,100 $9,424 2024
Maui Music Mission HI$64,941 Ceo $7,277 $6,361 2023
The Francis Poulenc Trio Inc MD$63,664 Secretary/vice President $17,500 $15,973 2023
Noontime Concerts CA$63,570 Executive Director $103,757 $87,469 2023
Chamber Music Society Of New Paltz Inc NY$63,535 President $9,500 $8,381 2023
Arco Collaborative Inc NY$93,123 President $39,000 $33,418 2024
Picco Music Academy Inc CA$96,948 President $15,500 $12,692 2024
Timeless Melodies Fnd For Education Inc CA$55,035 Executive Direc $23,750 $18,946 2025
Beethoven Festival Orchestra Inc NY$52,957 President $2,000 $1,714 2024
Da Capo Virginia VA$103,840 Executive & Vivo Director/past-president $43,633 $39,950 2024
Trilogy An Opera Company NJ$111,031 Artisticexecutive Director $19,150 $16,213 2024
Tanner Gift Of Music Trust UT$113,311 Secretary/tr $8,500 $8,493 2023
International Federation For Choral Music TX$113,444 Office Manager $36,960 $35,059 2024
Lake County Symphony CA$114,856 President $1,230 $1,007 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IN 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 IN 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 default68th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)63rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted68th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted63rd

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 (Darrin Sorley) 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 (A68), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $22,800 is reasonable (approximately the 68th 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.