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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Victory Gardens Theater

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 362807341
IL · NTEE A650
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Roxanna Conner, Executive Director / CEO ($59,111) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 18 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 72nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Roxanna Conner — reported title “MANAGING DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

18 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 18 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$9,519 total compensation of comparable organizations → $107,748 $59,111
$19,29110th
$29,56525th
$48,000Median
$59,18875th
$72,84890th
$59,111This org · 72nd
p10$19,291
p25$29,565
p50$48,000
p75$59,188
p90$72,848
$59,111

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 IL 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
Project Danztheatre Company IL$377,104 Executive Dir. $66,707 $63,123 2025
Chicago Tap Theatre Nfp IL$391,090 Artistic Director $37,000 $35,938 2024
Childrens Theatre Of Elgin & Fox Valley Theatre Company IL$392,287 Director Of Opertions $53,815 $52,271 2024
Rivendell Theatre Ensemble IL$398,180 Director $50,576 $49,125 2024
Lukaba Productions IL$402,338 Executive Director $75,000 $72,848 2024
Filament Theatre Ensemble Nfp IL$347,996 Ex Officio $46,875 $46,875 2023
Redtwist Theatre IL$342,425 Artist Director $14,805 $14,380 2024
Chicago Latino Theater Alliance IL$335,630 Executive Di $113,866 $107,748 2025
Kokandy Productions IL$317,321 Producing Artistic Director $9,800 $9,519 2024
Piven Theatre Workshop IL$308,032 Artistic Dir $59,800 $56,587 2025
Artists' Ensemble Theater Inc IL$303,429 Artistic Dir $25,487 $24,118 2025
Chicago Dramatists IL$291,266 Artistic Direc. $33,065 $33,065 2023
The Gift Theatre Company IL$280,448 Managing Director $41,346 $40,160 2024
Water People Theater Group Nfp IL$279,163 Exec Artistic Director $61,200 $59,444 2024
Invictus Theatre IL$278,797 President And Artistic Director $22,028 $21,396 2024
Shattered Globe Theatre IL$490,442 Director $75,000 $72,848 2024
Lifeline Productions Inc IL$493,881 Managing Dir. $30,010 $28,398 2025
Mudlark Theater Company Nfp IL$568,842 Executive Dir. $60,147 $58,421 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL 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 IL 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 default72nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)61st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted72nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted72nd

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 (Roxanna Conner) 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 18 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A65) + IL + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $59,111 is reasonable (approximately the 72nd 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.