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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Wham Art Association

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 364697281
AZ · NTEE A20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Connie Whitlock, Executive Director / CEO ($49,940) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 325 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 52nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

325 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 325 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$284 total compensation of comparable organizations → $152,866 $49,940
$10,69910th
$27,80225th
$48,009Median
$67,39575th
$82,53890th
$49,940This org · 52nd
p10$10,699
p25$27,802
p50$48,009
p75$67,395
p90$82,538
$49,940

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 AZ 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
Creative Nomads Ltd MD$306,365 Executive Director $79,600 $77,380 2023
Skyes The Limit Foundation Inc AZ$307,598 President $73,025 $70,930 2024
Campanile Center For The Arts Inc WI$307,761 Executive Director $62,647 $66,079 2024
Kindred Arts Inc NY$305,052 Executive Director $11,750 $11,040 2023
Day Eight DC$304,981 President $83,000 $73,561 2024
Nashville Arcade Arts Program Inc TN$304,478 Executive Director $80,325 $85,274 2024
First Night Monterey CA$309,305 Executive Di $40,919 $35,686 2024
Arts Alive 45 Inc IL$309,678 President $24,500 $24,326 2024
El Ballet Folklorico Estudiantil MI$303,518 Director $7,200 $7,505 2024
International Focus Inc NC$303,451 Executive Director $69,207 $74,355 2023
Milton Artists Guild Inc VT$310,674 Executive Dir. $60,000 $60,994 2024
Smoke & Barrel Inc LA$302,839 Director $12,000 $13,346 2024
Continuo Arts Foundation Inc NJ$302,133 Executive Director $62,000 $55,908 2024
Colorado Celebration Of African American Arts And Culture CO$312,233 Executive Director $5,000 $4,843 2024
Huma House Inc CA$312,288 President $92,400 $78,506 2025
Buffalo Institute For Contemporary Art NY$301,221 Part Time Executive Director $12,000 $11,275 2023
Bloomington Creative Glass Center Inc IN$300,843 President $23,404 $25,663 2023
Adefua Cultural Education Workshop WA$313,078 Executive Director $36,503 $33,982 2023
Dorill Initiative Inc NY$314,146 Executive Director $9,149 $8,596 2023
The Bridge Pai VA$299,056 Chief Execut $58,731 $57,273 2024
Johnson County Ctr For The Arts TN$314,896 Executive Director $3,692 $3,919 2024
Mill City Farmers Market Charitable Fund MN$314,946 Executive Director $7,953 $7,937 2024
Grass Roots Cultural And Performing MA$315,357 Executive Di $58,000 $54,194 2023
The Saco River Theatre ME$315,634 President/executive Dir. $38,000 $39,565 2023
Masa Center MI$315,795 President $33,334 $33,853 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AZ 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 AZ 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 default52nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)49th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted53rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted50th

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 (Connie Whitlock) 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 325 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $49,940 is reasonable (approximately the 52nd 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.