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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Creative Arts Repertoire Ensemble

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 383525518
MI · NTEE A60
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Trent Wadsworth, Executive Director / CEO ($7,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 91 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 11th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Trent Wadsworth — reported title “DIRECTOR”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

91 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 91 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$580 total compensation of comparable organizations → $101,311 $7,500
$6,61910th
$16,11825th
$33,059Median
$48,93475th
$66,69490th
$7,500This org · 11th
p10$6,619
p25$16,118
p50$33,059
p75$48,934
p90$66,694
$7,500

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 MI 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
Ra-ve Cultural Foundation Inc AR$195,135 Executive Director $31,416 $35,223 2023
Bay Area Omni Foundation For CA$192,946 President $35,200 $30,318 2023
Brooklynone Productions Inc NY$192,847 Officer $27,470 $24,049 2024
Gabriel Chamber Ensemble PA$191,691 Exec Director $11,644 $11,250 2024
Arete Living Arts Foundation NY$191,016 Executive Director $3,854 $3,474 2023
Instaballet OR$188,635 Executive Di $63,580 $55,729 2025
Dance Canvas Inc GA$202,673 Executive Artistic Director $104,000 $101,311 2024
51 Walden Inc MA$187,311 Secretary And Director $38,521 $32,672 2025
Allens Community Theatre TX$205,139 At Large $1,275 $1,272 2023
Starring Buffalo Inc NY$206,183 Executive Director $15,000 $12,793 2025
State Theatre Preservation Society PA$207,334 President $3,116 $3,099 2023
Maryland Center For The Visual And Performing Arts Inc MD$207,895 Executive Director $22,000 $19,413 2025
Theater At The Center Inc IN$208,112 Administrator $44,677 $46,995 2023
Our Fabulous Variety Show Inc NY$208,492 Executive Di $33,648 $28,699 2025
Theatre Art For Kids NE$208,967 President $23,333 $24,314 2024
I Sound Performing Arts CA$181,555 Executive Dir $3,500 $2,928 2024
Ovation Theatre CA$209,509 Executive Director $53,750 $44,967 2024
Experiments In Opera NY$211,152 Executive Director $12,000 $10,235 2025
Off Broadway Theatre Inc UT$178,792 Artistic Dir $43,440 $43,074 2024
Freed Performing Arts Inc FL$211,849 President $36,000 $33,733 2023
Phffft Company Inc WA$178,138 President $46,374 $40,225 2024
Disco Riot CA$177,873 President $18,000 $14,670 2025
Blackstone River Theatre RI$213,507 Executive Director $72,538 $69,378 2023
East Side Arts Council MN$213,627 Executive Dir. $40,810 $39,068 2024
Songbird Multimedia And Performing Arts Foundation AR$176,810 President $17,925 $20,097 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MI cost of living and 2024 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 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.

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 default11th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)11th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted12th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted11th

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 (Trent Wadsworth) 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 91 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $7,500 is reasonable (approximately the 11th 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.