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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Gerald A Bartell Community Theater Found

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 391807067
WI · NTEE A190
FY ending 2024-07-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Josiah Tropp, Executive Director / CEO ($44,427) against the 2000 closest of 2,461 comparable organizations — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 59th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Josiah Tropp — reported title “FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

2,461 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 2,000 within the band form the benchmarked peer set (closest by budget).

Distribution of comparable compensation

$20 total compensation of comparable organizations → $274,373 $44,427
$6,32110th
$19,21625th
$37,300Median
$55,39075th
$72,58090th
$44,427This org · 59th
p10$6,321
p25$19,216
p50$37,300
p75$55,390
p90$72,580
$44,427

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 WI 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
Hamilton-garrett Music And Arts Academy Inc MA$229,235 Executive Director $87,447 $75,243 2024
Arte Institute Inc NY$229,498 President/treasurer $60,000 $51,914 2024
Southland Sings CA$229,213 President $32,866 $26,474 2025
Stockton Folk Dance Camp CA$229,159 Director $2,700 $2,232 2024
Blindspot Collective CA$229,118 Director $21,925 $18,664 2023
Greater Birmingham Arts Education Collaborative Inc AL$229,095 Executive Director $55,829 $57,752 2024
Western New York Heritage Inc NY$229,630 Executive Director $55,000 $47,588 2024
Huntingdon County Arts Council PA$229,077 Executive Director $34,615 $33,053 2024
The Tidewater Winds VA$228,993 Executive Di $52,499 $49,971 2023
Expats Theatre DC$229,766 Artistic Director $54,000 $45,374 2024
Mighty Childrens Museum OH$229,820 Director $13,980 $14,178 2024
African American Heritage Trail MA$229,827 Ceo $26,000 $22,372 2024
Young Preservationists Association Of Pittsburgh PA$228,825 Executive Director $82,046 $80,657 2023
James A Unruh Family Foundation AZ$229,900 Secretary & Treasurer (Thru 12/23) $29,610 $27,267 2024
Images A Festival Of The Arts Inc FL$228,794 Executive Director $2,019 $1,816 2024
Parallel Studios Inc NM$228,761 Executive Di $27,720 $29,391 2023
Columbia Gorge Orchestra Association OR$230,007 Artistic Chair Sinfonietta Dir $5,500 $4,764 2025
Huntsville Youth Orchestra Inc AL$228,701 Executive Dir $16,000 $17,040 2023
Coupeville Historic Waterfront WA$230,046 Executive Dir. $30,459 $26,112 2024
Laurens County Museum Association SC$228,620 Museum Direc $10,000 $10,284 2023
Butler County Historical Society OH$228,610 Executive Dir. $40,837 $41,415 2024
Experiential Orchestra Inc NY$230,111 General Manager $4,500 $3,894 2024
Bandwagon Institute For The Arts HI$230,121 President $27,665 $24,417 2023
Atlantic Black Box ME$228,481 Executive Di $86,426 $82,866 2024
American Master Chefs Orders KS$230,244 Executive Director $61,200 $63,308 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WI 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 WI 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 default59th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)56th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted60th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted57th

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 (Josiah Tropp) 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 2000 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (A), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $44,427 is reasonable (approximately the 59th 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.