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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Ghostlight Productions Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 384057017
MI · NTEE A60
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Paul Mow, Executive Director / CEO ($39,250) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 153 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 46th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Paul Mow — reported title “GENERAL MANAGER & ARTISTIC 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

153 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 153 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $104,620 $39,250
$11,32710th
$24,31425th
$44,412Median
$58,68775th
$73,71090th
$39,250This org · 46th
p10$11,327
p25$24,314
p50$44,412
p75$58,687
p90$73,710
$39,250

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
Youth Dance Ensemble And School MN$306,706 Executive Director $60,468 $56,395 2025
Ankeny Friends Of The Arts IA$304,062 Executive Director $47,885 $52,297 2023
Christ In The Arts Of West Texas Inc TX$302,809 President $26,300 $24,831 2025
Xelias Aerial Arts Studio MN$309,842 Executive Director $96,000 $89,533 2025
Katharsis Media NM$302,669 Executive Director $71,027 $74,013 2024
Brownbody MN$302,426 Executive Director $63,550 $62,634 2023
Reno Dance Company NV$311,005 Executive Director $15,000 $14,567 2024
Performing Arts Academy Of New TX$313,628 Chairman $29,996 $29,070 2024
Yes And Collaborative Arts PA$314,678 Executive Director $32,490 $31,390 2024
Atlanta Dance Theatre Inc GA$315,215 Artistic Dir $65,078 $63,396 2024
Rawdance CA$296,383 Director $3,802 $3,181 2024
Arts For Kids Inc NJ$316,270 Executive Director $57,868 $48,766 2025
Danielandsomesuperfriends Inc NY$296,045 Ceo, Artistic Director $69,823 $59,552 2025
Sandglass Center For Puppetry & Theater Research Ltd VT$318,179 Board Member And Artistic Director $37,556 $37,704 2023
Baltimore Improv Group MD$293,707 Managing Director $50,000 $46,626 2023
Contemporary Youth Orchestra OH$293,497 Executive Di $72,892 $77,007 2023
Death Of Classical Inc NY$293,171 Artistic Director $28,855 $25,262 2024
Mishpachah Inc OH$321,109 Director $60,911 $64,349 2023
Everett RI$291,469 Co-artistic Director/treas $35,100 $33,571 2023
Bower Center For The Arts VA$321,721 Executive Director $63,750 $59,635 2024
Childrens Legacy Theatre Inc DC$322,058 Executive Director $51,970 $44,184 2024
Teada Productions CA$323,308 President & $60,000 $48,901 2025
Inspire Music Service Hope Inc AZ$288,484 Executive Director $24,000 $23,023 2023
Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre MT$324,315 Associate Dir. $30,000 $31,330 2024
Royal Stage Christian Performing Arts CA$286,993 Executive Director $11,000 $9,474 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 default46th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)42nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted46th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted46th

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 (Paul Mow) 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 153 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $39,250 is reasonable (approximately the 46th 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.