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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Midwest Writing Center

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 421126078
IL · NTEE A030
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Ryan Collins, Executive Director / CEO ($33,497) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 611 in total — 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: Ryan Collins — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

611 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 611 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $440,416 $33,497
$4,07010th
$12,24725th
$25,943Median
$46,10875th
$64,96990th
$33,497This org · 59th
p10$4,070
p25$12,247
p50$25,943
p75$46,108
p90$64,969
$33,497

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 IL 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
Denizen Theatre Inc NY$110,746 Secretary/treasurer $19,980 $17,838 2024
Holland Childrens Movement NE$110,791 Ceo $42,825 $46,852 2023
The Arts Project Inc MD$110,552 Executive Director $24,559 $22,684 2024
Philadelphia Dance Projects PA$111,022 Executive Di $4,000 $3,839 2025
Trilogy An Opera Company NJ$111,031 Artisticexecutive Director $19,150 $16,893 2024
Shelton Historical Society Inc CT$111,059 Executive Director $24,445 $22,645 2024
Belton Center For The Arts SC$111,131 Executive Director $35,077 $36,155 2024
Trent House Association Inc NJ$111,226 Interim Executive Director $6,000 $5,449 2023
Art In The Atrium Inc NJ$110,017 Ceo $54,985 $48,503 2024
Opheliasmedia Films Inc GA$111,500 Director $45,950 $45,647 2024
Highland Historical Society VA$111,650 Executive Di $19,240 $18,354 2024
Susquehanna Museum Of Havre De MD$111,710 Executive Di $48,866 $45,136 2024
Bronzeville Children's Museum IL$111,780 President $6,000 $6,000 2023
The Iredell Museums Inc NC$109,708 Programs Opreations Manager $48,585 $48,320 2025
Chambersburg Community Theatre Inc PA$111,852 Managing Director $25,000 $24,632 2024
Emerald Hills Institute UT$109,609 Director $3,000 $3,034 2024
Japan House La Foundation CA$111,910 Ceo $6,000 $5,119 2024
River City Drum Corp Cultural Arts Institute Inc KY$111,932 Executive Director $44,500 $47,235 2024
Torah Lishmah Institute Inc NY$109,422 President $100,000 $89,277 2024
Waynesboro Community Theatre Project Inc PA$109,329 Director $29,879 $29,439 2024
Persephone Productions Inc VA$109,079 Ceo $80,506 $76,798 2024
Elivy Youth Performing Arts Institute IL$109,056 Treasurer $3,120 $3,030 2024
Johnson House Historic Site PA$112,477 Executive Director $21,000 $20,691 2024
The Etruscan Foundation MI$108,868 Exec. Direct $52,000 $53,028 2024
Nashville Ballet Foundation TN$108,590 Artistic Director/ceo $4,054 $4,210 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL 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 IL 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)59th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted61st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted55th

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 (Ryan Collins) 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 611 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (A), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $33,497 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.