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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Parallel Studios Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 364663305
NM · NTEE A20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Frank Ragano, Executive Director / CEO ($27,720) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 272 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 36th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Frank Ragano — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

272 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 272 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$254 total compensation of comparable organizations → $258,773 $27,720
$7,58410th
$20,50425th
$36,895Median
$52,80675th
$66,48590th
$27,720This org · 36th
p10$7,584
p25$20,504
p50$36,895
p75$52,806
p90$66,485
$27,720

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 NM 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
Images A Festival Of The Arts Inc FL$228,794 Executive Director $2,019 $1,713 2024
Atlantic Black Box ME$228,481 Executive Di $86,426 $78,154 2024
Voice Of The City IL$228,121 Vp Of Teachi $36,147 $31,265 2025
Arte Institute Inc NY$229,498 President/treasurer $60,000 $48,963 2024
Mivos Quartet Performing Arts Inc NY$227,496 Key Employee $24,938 $20,952 2023
Jlf Colorado CO$227,467 Executive Dir. $28,296 $24,503 2024
Kente Arts Alliance PA$230,244 President $24,000 $22,252 2023
Maine Jewish Film Festival ME$230,901 Executive Director $73,796 $65,013 2025
Continuum Arts Collective ME$231,432 Executive Director $30,000 $27,930 2023
Urban Arts Collective TX$231,684 Producing Executive Director $50,000 $46,502 2023
Kenosha Common Markets Inc WI$224,761 Executive Dir. $60,000 $56,589 2024
Coronado Junior Arts League CA$224,657 Chair $40,000 $31,192 2024
The Peoples Conservatory CA$224,549 Executive Director $43,732 $39,476 2021
Allied Ceramics Art Institute CA$233,412 Member At Large $8,279 $6,647 2023
Ekmeles Inc NY$233,616 President $31,675 $26,612 2023
Black Violin Foundation Inc FL$223,842 President $19,500 $17,032 2023
Escuela Mayaguezana De Ballet PR$223,807 Incorporator $29,335 $29,335 2023
Rhizome Dc DC$223,504 Director, Trustee $46,128 $37,635 2023
Mannakin Theater And Dance CA$234,670 Ceo Artistic/executive Director $40,000 $31,192 2024
Monarch Music & Arts Community KY$222,769 President $46,000 $44,631 2024
Crested Butte Society Inc CO$234,861 Executive Director $69,592 $60,262 2024
Carolyn Glasoe Bailey Foundation Inc CA$235,050 Executive Director $82,796 $66,472 2023
Psymposia Inc DE$235,243 President $20,000 $17,685 2024
Amiable Arts Foundation MS$222,009 Executive Director $132,000 $136,687 2023
Bunker Projects Inc PA$221,994 Executive Di $30,000 $27,017 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NM 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 NM 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 default36th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)31st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted37th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted34th

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 (Frank Ragano) 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 272 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $27,720 is reasonable (approximately the 36th 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.