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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Friends Of Wisconsin Singers Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 391851370
WI · NTEE A116
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Robin Whitty Novotny, Executive Director / CEO ($4,966) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 33 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 3rd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Robin Whitty Novotny — reported title “MEMBER AT LARGE”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

33 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 33 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$4,208 total compensation of comparable organizations → $129,493 $4,966
$8,17110th
$11,72125th
$25,827Median
$54,47175th
$65,70590th
$4,966This org · 3rd
p10$8,171
p25$11,721
p50$25,827
p75$54,471
p90$65,705
$4,966

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
Athletes In Rochester Incorporated NY$264,832 President $64,911 $56,164 2023
Majestic Theatre NH$252,553 Treasurer $7,475 $6,609 2023
Oxnard Downtowners Foundation Inc CA$268,741 Chairman $32,160 $25,827 2024
Ftc Qalicb Inc MS$244,935 Director $10,528 $10,905 2024
Cast 447 Minna Llc CA$242,257 Manager $11,688 $9,387 2024
Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum MI$282,281 Secretary $26,180 $25,132 2024
Cabinet Of Curiosity Inc Nfp IL$237,150 President $13,662 $12,861 2023
The Columbia Memorial Space Science Lear CA$284,088 President & Executive Dire $81,528 $67,409 2023
Cabots Museum Foundation CA$235,940 Executive Dir. $70,000 $56,217 2024
Bill And Sara Morgan Real Estate TX$235,673 Secretary $53,774 $50,028 2024
Aspen Santa Fe Ballet Endowment Inc CO$287,124 Executive Director $6,890 $6,144 2024
Eugene Symphony Foundation OR$231,088 Executive Dir. $13,181 $11,721 2023
James A Unruh Family Foundation AZ$229,900 Secretary & Treasurer (Thru 12/23) $29,610 $26,484 2024
Artsquest Foundation PA$292,257 Executive Director $135,613 $129,493 2023
San Bernardino County Museum Association CA$299,234 Executive Director $142,923 $114,782 2024
Friends Of The Minnesota Sinfonia MN$218,435 Artistic/executive Directo $50,704 $46,596 2024
The Raymer Society For The Arts KS$218,025 Executive Dir. $30,720 $30,867 2024
Clues Real Estate Holding Company MN$216,412 President $26,666 $24,506 2024
Destination Crenshaw Support Foundation CA$213,080 Chairperson/president $5,089 $4,208 2023
Ives Torres Foundation CA$312,816 Director $67,826 $54,471 2024
American Indian Cultural Center Management OK$317,982 Ceo $11,054 $11,655 2023
Oklahoma City Art Museum Affiliated OK$198,654 Secretary $25,864 $27,270 2023
Asian And Pacific Islander Americans WA$195,999 Executive Dir. $97,600 $81,270 2024
Wisconsin Broadcasters Association WI$328,474 President And Ceo $21,960 $21,330 2024
White Pool House Friends TX$188,105 Exec. At Large $22,586 $21,013 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 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 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 default3rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)0th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted48th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted0th

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 (Robin Whitty Novotny) 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 33 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A11), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $4,966 is reasonable (approximately the 3rd 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.