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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Kindling Group

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 364478085
IL · NTEE A31
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Daniel Alpert, Executive Director / CEO ($88,200) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 65 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 69th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Daniel Alpert — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

65 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 65 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,500 total compensation of comparable organizations → $199,273 $88,200
$16,62810th
$45,08825th
$62,545Median
$95,02475th
$135,13390th
$88,200This org · 69th
p10$16,628
p25$45,088
p50$62,545
p75$95,024
p90$135,133
$88,200

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
Aitysh Usa CA$386,691 Executive Director $68,000 $59,726 2023
Dc Independent Film Festival DC$381,791 Executive Director $40,000 $34,679 2024
Sun Valley Film Festival Inc ID$379,947 Chairman/ed $42,900 $45,088 2024
Hamptons Take 2 Documentary Film NY$373,762 Pres & Exec Dir $65,000 $58,030 2024
Visart Inc NC$400,703 Executive Director $39,224 $40,042 2024
Garden State Film Festival NJ$365,589 Executive Director $30,000 $25,781 2025
Silicon Valley Jewish Film Festival CA$410,985 Executive Director $166,001 $145,804 2023
Black Girls Film Camp NC$361,259 Executive Dir $41,400 $42,263 2024
Port Townsend Film Institute WA$412,527 Executive Dir. $83,500 $73,860 2024
Three Generations Inc NY$413,975 Founder $67,409 $60,181 2024
Association Of Film Commissioners CA$359,507 Executive Director $120,000 $105,400 2023
The Zephyr Theatre MN$357,265 Interim Executive Director $48,000 $46,860 2024
Friends Of The Garden Theater MI$420,656 Executive Di $78,405 $79,956 2024
Schoolyard Films Inc FL$420,840 Executive Director $120,000 $111,377 2024
Athol-orange Community Television Inc MA$423,553 Executive Director $79,940 $73,069 2023
Cinefemme CA$346,073 Executive Director $170,504 $149,759 2023
Dallas Film Society Inc TX$432,873 Chief Executive Officer & Board Member $33,333 $33,916 2023
Checkerboard Foundation Inc NY$340,581 Chairman & President $20,000 $17,855 2024
Docs In Progress Inc MD$434,981 Ceo $38,785 $35,825 2024
New Plaza Cinema Inc NY$338,151 General Mgr/ $35,000 $32,170 2023
Boston Jewish Film Inc MA$436,434 Executive Director $107,031 $95,024 2024
Transformative Culture Project Inc MA$436,564 Executive Director $82,503 $71,360 2025
Florida Film Institute Inc FL$333,870 President $69,675 $64,668 2024
Julien Dubuque International Film Festival IA$331,397 Executive Director $67,980 $73,540 2024
Tallgrass Film Association KS$330,994 Executive Director $68,725 $73,354 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 default69th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)69th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted69th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted69th

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 (Daniel Alpert) 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 65 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A31), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $88,200 is reasonable (approximately the 69th 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.