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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Branson Arts Council Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 431606888
MO · NTEE A260
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Luke Menard, Executive Director / CEO ($11,250) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 62 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 5th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

62 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 62 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$480 total compensation of comparable organizations → $148,953 $11,250
$32,77310th
$37,63325th
$51,262Median
$66,44575th
$79,22890th
$11,250This org · 5th
p10$32,773
p25$37,633
p50$51,262
p75$66,445
p90$79,228
$11,250

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 MO 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
Milwaukee Artist Resource Network WI$315,569 Executive Director $16,077 $15,853 2024
West Valley Arts Council AZ$315,816 Executive Di $70,000 $65,439 2023
Humboldt Arts Council Inc CA$316,093 Executive Director $71,267 $58,102 2024
Bayou Regional Arts Council LA$316,139 Exec Director $62,615 $65,097 2024
Cultureworks MI$298,348 Executive Di $61,257 $58,158 2025
Queen Anne's County Arts Council MD$297,108 Executive Director $71,726 $63,312 2024
Golden Isles Arts & Humanities GA$293,185 Executive Dir. $42,508 $40,354 2024
Greenwich Arts Council Inc CT$328,339 Executive Di $115,000 $99,179 2025
Barn Arts Center For The Arts Company VT$283,488 Executive Director $69,010 $67,518 2023
Lexington County Arts Association SC$283,341 President $500 $480 2025
Iredell Arts Council Inc NC$336,389 Executive Di $36,607 $35,712 2024
Arts Council Napa Valley CA$278,573 Ceo/president $97,200 $79,245 2024
Tioga County Council On The Arts Inc NY$276,999 Executive Dir. $41,892 $35,741 2024
Arts Council Of South Wood County WI$275,457 Executive Director $50,000 $48,031 2025
The Stelae Inc FL$272,281 Vice Preside $1,599 $1,418 2024
Kodiak Baranof Productions Inc AK$343,839 Exec Director $53,158 $47,983 2024
The Crossing Arts Alliance MN$271,075 Executive Director $55,000 $51,311 2024
Craftnow Philadelphia PA$345,464 Executive Director $90,913 $85,598 2024
Vox Populi Inc PA$345,512 Executive Di $59,367 $57,548 2023
Holland Area Arts Council MI$346,762 Secretary $15,538 $15,142 2024
Arts Council Of Mendocino County CA$266,842 Executive Direc $68,330 $57,353 2023
Dona Ana Arts Council NM$266,004 Executive Director $33,346 $34,863 2023
Greater Denton Arts Council Inc TX$351,567 Director $71,000 $69,036 2023
Chenango County Council Of The Arts NY$261,508 Executive Director $42,182 $35,061 2025
Eastern Oregon Regional Arts Council OR$354,565 Executive Director $42,444 $37,215 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MO 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 MO 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 default5th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)5th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted5th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted5th

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 (Luke Menard) 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 62 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A26), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $11,250 is reasonable (approximately the 5th 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.