Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Michelle Carlson, Executive Director / CEO ($56,140) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 70 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 53rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range
Benchmarked executive: Michelle Carlson — reported title “ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.
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 MI cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.
| Organization | State | Revenue | Matched title | Comp (reported) | Comp (adjusted) | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Garden Art Association | FL | $321,429 | Exec Director | $59,654 | $54,294 | 2023 |
| Center For The Visual Arts | WI | $322,171 | Executive Di | $50,402 | $49,534 | 2024 |
| Washington Architectural Foundation | DC | $324,151 | Executive Director | $2,275 | $1,879 | 2024 |
| The Video Game History Foundation Inc | CA | $324,387 | President / Executive Director | $67,416 | $54,782 | 2024 |
| Center For Contemporary Arts | TX | $315,227 | Executive Director | $71,066 | $66,897 | 2024 |
| Octagon Center For The Arts | IA | $310,524 | Executive Director | $47,000 | $47,180 | 2025 |
| Watercolor Art Society-houston | TX | $330,071 | Annual Members Exhibit Director | $11,302 | $10,365 | 2025 |
| Pennsylvania Guild Of Craftsmen | PA | $333,636 | Exec Dir Out | $22,212 | $20,845 | 2024 |
| Mooresville Artist Guild | NC | $302,180 | Executive Dir. | $21,839 | $21,235 | 2024 |
| Plymouth Art Foundation Inc | WI | $338,171 | Exec Dir | $71,564 | $70,332 | 2024 |
| Maryland Art Place Inc | MD | $338,917 | Executive Director | $96,373 | $87,292 | 2023 |
| Stay Arts | CA | $300,980 | Executive Director | $35,229 | $29,472 | 2023 |
| Cuyahoga Valley Art Center | OH | $299,875 | Executive Di | $77,895 | $77,638 | 2024 |
| The Light Factory | NC | $294,949 | Executive Di | $46,442 | $45,158 | 2024 |
| Lenawee Council For The Visual Arts | MI | $346,125 | Executive Director | $68,750 | $65,056 | 2025 |
| Alchemy Art Center | WA | $292,178 | Co-director | $32,270 | $27,991 | 2023 |
| Katy Artreach | TX | $348,050 | Executive Di | $46,350 | $44,919 | 2023 |
| Public Art Saint Paul | MN | $349,666 | Executive Di | $73,245 | $68,107 | 2024 |
| Wilkes Art Gallery Inc | NC | $351,723 | Executive Director | $67,373 | $65,510 | 2024 |
| Bountiful Davis Art Foundation | UT | $354,072 | Executive Director | $81,000 | $78,013 | 2024 |
| Precita Eyes Muralists Association Inc | CA | $355,365 | Executive Dir. | $45,371 | $37,957 | 2023 |
| Oye Group Inc | NY | $357,335 | Co-chairman | $3,200 | $2,721 | 2024 |
| Craftstudies Inc | VT | $359,913 | Executive Director | $81,200 | $74,928 | 2025 |
| The Carving Studio & Sculpture Ctr | VT | $363,244 | Executive Di | $76,292 | $74,397 | 2023 |
| Teton Arts Council Inc | ID | $365,515 | Executive Director | $61,471 | $61,536 | 2024 |
Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MI cost of living and 2023 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.
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 MI 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.
Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:
| Basis | Subject percentile |
|---|---|
| Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default | 53rd |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 47th |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 53rd |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 49th |
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.
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
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.