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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Outdoor Writers Association Of America

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 430794723
OH · NTEE A76C
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Chez Chesak, Executive Director / CEO ($81,102) against the 2000 closest of 2,895 comparable organizations — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 92nd percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

2,895 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 2,000 within the band form the benchmarked peer set (closest by budget).

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $214,631 $81,102
$8,29210th
$22,83425th
$41,968Median
$58,98675th
$77,04590th
$81,102This org · 92nd
p10$8,292
p25$22,834
p50$41,968
p75$58,986
p90$77,045
$81,102

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 OH 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
Lama Foundation NM$280,456 Director $1,008 $1,054 2023
The Gift Theatre Company IL$280,448 Managing Director $41,346 $38,378 2024
Discovery Trail Inc NY$280,393 Executive Director $70,510 $58,606 2025
Oklahoma Community Based Providers OK$280,393 Executive Dir. $92,500 $99,007 2023
Cedarburg Art Museum & Society Inc WI$280,277 Executive Director $68,199 $67,247 2024
Asian American Media Inc CA$280,899 President $99,512 $81,130 2024
Arawaka Inc NM$281,056 President $47,700 $49,870 2023
Wormfarm Institute Inc WI$280,067 Director $74,000 $72,967 2024
Hear Now Music Festival CA$280,055 President And Artistic Direct $40,500 $33,994 2023
Junior Chamber Music CA$281,240 Director $14,800 $12,066 2024
Chandler Childrens Choir Inc AZ$281,311 Executive/artistic Director $30,417 $27,619 2024
40 West Arts Inc CO$281,460 Pt Exec Director $38,000 $34,402 2024
Feet In 2 Worlds Inc NY$281,470 President $38,640 $32,966 2024
Tacoma Youth Chorus WA$281,483 Managing Director $53,700 $46,733 2023
Carpinteria Community Theater Inc CA$281,492 Executive Director $50,000 $40,764 2024
Live Oak Theatre Company Inc FL$281,507 President $7,376 $6,736 2023
Minnesota Council Of Teachers Of Mathematics MN$281,564 Executive Director $11,220 $10,776 2023
Kealakai Center For Pacific String Traditions HI$279,563 Executive Director $31,900 $26,965 2024
Pacific Nw Writers Association WA$281,623 Trustee $2,800 $2,367 2024
Rising Star Theatre Company IA$281,633 Director/artistic And Education Director $39,000 $41,508 2023
Junior High Incorporated CA$281,645 Executive Director $32,000 $26,089 2024
Italian Cultural Center MN$279,445 Director - Adult Language School $23,356 $22,433 2023
Professional Development FL$281,728 President $136,576 $121,137 2024
Resonance Vocal Ensemble OR$279,404 Secretary $11,063 $9,450 2025
Green Mountain Performing Arts Inc VT$279,397 Former Exec Dir $36,664 $34,842 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to OH 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 OH 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 default92nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)89th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted93rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted90th

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 (Chez Chesak) 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 $81,102 is reasonable (approximately the 92nd 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.