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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Cinestory Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 364169083
CA · NTEE A99
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Colette Sartor, Executive Director / CEO ($32,700) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 22 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 14th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Colette Sartor — reported title “Executive Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

22 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 22 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$6,159 total compensation of comparable organizations → $136,122 $32,700
$26,13110th
$43,27925th
$62,780Median
$80,15175th
$108,88390th
$32,700This org · 14th
p10$26,131
p25$43,279
p50$62,780
p75$80,151
p90$108,883
$32,700

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
Shipyard Trust For The Arts CA$321,074 President Ceo $118,920 $125,672 2023
Dance Film Sf Inc CA$312,344 Interim Executive Director $68,950 $72,865 2023
Los Angeles Indigenous Peoples' Alliance CA$336,000 Director $6,000 $6,159 2024
Chopsticks Alley Art CA$302,349 Executive Director $78,375 $80,449 2024
Vietnamese American Organization - Vao CA$299,478 Executive Director $23,209 $24,527 2023
Filipino American Symphony Orchestra CA$299,219 Executive Director $71,936 $76,020 2023
Sol Treasures Inc CA$343,778 Executive Dir. $83,334 $85,539 2024
Drag Story Hour CA$349,890 E.d. To 12/23 $66,058 $67,806 2024
Hear Now Music Festival CA$280,055 President And Artistic Direct $40,500 $42,799 2023
Studio 395 Foundation CA$265,130 Ceo $39,520 $40,566 2024
D2is Foundation CA$382,720 President $40,327 $42,617 2023
Mariachi Womens Foundation CA$253,146 Executive Dir. $50,000 $52,839 2023
Demolay International 73000 Northern California CA$390,765 Executive Director $81,946 $86,599 2023
De Colores Arts CA$393,608 Executive Director $132,613 $136,122 2024
Blindspot Collective CA$229,118 Director $21,925 $23,170 2023
Firehouse Projects CA$220,000 Director $75,000 $79,258 2023
5p Society CA$219,370 Executive Vp $50,000 $51,323 2024
The Society For Financial Awareness CA$426,670 Coo $108,489 $111,359 2024
Sutter County Parent Network CA$444,405 Co-executive Director $56,264 $57,753 2024
Women Wonder Writers CA$460,237 Lead Instructor $42,317 $44,720 2023
Side Street Projects CA$463,757 Executive Director $76,076 $78,089 2024
Drumming For Your Life Institute CA$473,746 President $51,200 $54,107 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 default14th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)14th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted14th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted14th

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 (Colette Sartor) 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 22 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A99) + CA + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $32,700 is reasonable (approximately the 14th 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.