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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Lyra

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 363369159
MN · NTEE A69Z
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sara Thompson, Executive Director / CEO ($2,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 75 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 1st percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Sara Thompson — reported title “PLAYERS REPRESENTATIVE”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

75 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 75 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$846 total compensation of comparable organizations → $101,655 $2,000
$11,61410th
$25,23425th
$41,381Median
$55,79375th
$70,34290th
$2,000This org · 1st
p10$11,614
p25$25,234
p50$41,381
p75$55,793
p90$70,342
$2,000

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 MN 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
Catskill Symphony Orchestra NY$266,367 Executive Dir. $35,000 $32,007 2024
Jacksonville Symphony Society IL$263,856 Executive Director $6,070 $6,039 2024
Minot Symphony Association Inc ND$271,643 Executive Director $55,200 $61,306 2024
Ashland Symphony Orchestra OH$262,008 Executive Di $44,582 $47,787 2024
North Charleston Pops SC$260,852 Executive Dir. $16,667 $18,116 2023
Pioneer Valley Symphony Inc MA$275,255 Executive Director $38,750 $36,282 2023
Kennett Symphony Of Chester County PA$254,669 Music Direct $29,154 $30,292 2023
Lake Washington Symphony Orche WA$253,894 President $5,000 $4,530 2024
Anderson Symphony Orchestra Assoc IN$283,201 Executive Director $54,124 $59,470 2023
Bemidji Symphony Orchestra MN$249,976 Executive Di $43,728 $42,601 2025
Community Youth Orchestra Of Bucks Count PA$284,815 Executive Dir. $50,500 $52,472 2023
Oregon East Symphony OR$248,785 President $900 $846 2024
Baltimore Chamber Orchestra Inc MD$286,726 Executive Dir. $42,481 $41,381 2023
Douglas County Youth Orchestra Inc CO$246,704 Director $44,136 $41,726 2025
Bluewater Chamber Orchestra OH$288,511 Artistic Director $29,000 $31,085 2024
Black Hills Symphony Orchestra Society SD$246,108 Executive Director $33,099 $36,016 2025
Arapahoe Philharmonic Inc CO$245,061 Executive Di $73,163 $73,095 2023
Chamber Music Oc CA$243,060 Executive Dir. $10,580 $9,519 2023
Macon Pops Inc GA$239,728 Ceo $48,500 $50,811 2023
Metropolitan Youth Symphony Inc MI$236,483 Executive Director $37,451 $38,113 2025
Corvallis Youth Symphony Assoc OR$299,505 Executive Director $57,440 $55,579 2023
Symphony Of The Redwoods CA$234,665 Executive Director $16,402 $14,757 2023
South Coast Symphony CA$234,409 Ceo $23,332 $20,390 2024
Vivo Youth Orchestras CA$300,586 President/executive Director $88,200 $79,354 2023
East County Youth Symphony CA$233,133 Executive Director $44,000 $39,587 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MN 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 MN 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 default1st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)1st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted1st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted1st

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 (Sara Thompson) 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 75 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A69), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $2,000 is reasonable (approximately the 1st 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.