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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Cedar Rapids Symphony Orchestra

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 421335662
IA · NTEE A69I
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Barnes Linda, Executive Director / CEO ($4,528) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 37 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 30th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Barnes Linda — reported title “INTERIM CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

37 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 37 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$263 total compensation of comparable organizations → $296,753 $4,528
$2,01210th
$4,33725th
$12,685Median
$28,22875th
$72,16090th
$4,528This org · 30th
p10$2,012
p25$4,337
p50$12,685
p75$28,228
p90$72,160
$4,528

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 IA 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
Streatorland Historical Society Inc IL$17,809 Executive Director $13,470 $12,094 2024
North Texas Public Broadcasting TX$18,220 President & Ceo $28,809 $27,097 2023
Yankee Air Museum Foundation Inc MI$17,520 Executive Director $135,000 $127,261 2024
Secret Land Arp CA$17,500 Executive Director $4,000 $3,248 2023
Coatesville Cultural Society Inc PA$17,419 President $30,994 $28,228 2024
University Cultural Center Association MI$18,733 Executive Director $305,767 $296,753 2023
Menlowe Ballet CA$16,800 Artistic Director $599 $472 2024
International Classical Concerts Of The CA$19,562 President $7,000 $5,520 2024
Seeds Of Light Foundation OR$19,597 Secretary $41,600 $36,325 2023
Museum Of Ancient Wonders CA$19,670 Executive Director $5,500 $4,337 2024
Network Of Ensemble Theaters Inc OR$20,205 Executive Dir. $83,898 $73,259 2023
Stephen J Ponzillo Jr Memorial Library MD$20,728 Grand Secretary $9,099 $7,999 2023
Dream Out Loud Productions CA$15,043 President $20,000 $16,239 2023
The New York City Police Museum NY$21,135 Executive D $21,540 $17,777 2024
Afton Historical Society Press MN$14,792 Bookeeper $2,500 $2,256 2024
Denton Maker Center TX$14,791 Secretary $288 $263 2024
Friends Of Danada IL$14,084 Executive Di $112,040 $98,005 2025
Contact Collaborations Inc VT$22,079 President $12,250 $11,594 2023
Carmel Mission Foundation Inc CA$22,133 Executive Dir. $56,623 $45,973 2023
Strategic Air & Space Museum Foundation NE$22,156 President/ceo $13,500 $13,653 2023
The Buddhayana Foundation Inc MA$22,435 Treasurer $24,000 $19,697 2024
Wayne County Historical Society IL$22,599 Director / Curator $4,830 $4,337 2024
Sfte Inc NM$22,897 Presidentdirector $13,670 $13,428 2024
Claude Heater Foundation CA$23,205 Ceodirector $70,000 $56,835 2023
Us-china Language & Culturefoundation CA$23,580 President $580 $457 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IA 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 IA 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 default30th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)22nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted62nd

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 (Barnes Linda) 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 37 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (A), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $4,528 is reasonable (approximately the 30th 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.