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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Northern Lights Arts Council Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 450436842
ND · NTEE A600
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Amber Benoit, Executive Director / CEO ($6,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 66 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 11th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

66 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 66 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$560 total compensation of comparable organizations → $97,810 $6,000
$5,68710th
$14,47625th
$29,541Median
$45,25275th
$63,87490th
$6,000This org · 11th
p10$5,687
p25$14,476
p50$29,541
p75$45,252
p90$63,874
$6,000

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 ND 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
Nautilus Music Theater MN$168,127 President & Artistic Director $34,533 $31,917 2024
The Gerald Arpino Foundation IL$162,771 Executive Director $6,750 $6,390 2023
Chestnut Fine Arts Center Inc KS$162,453 Executive Director $77,737 $80,873 2023
Dance Wisconsin Inc WI$172,236 Director $5,200 $4,949 2025
Soli Chamber Ensemble TX$176,756 Managing Director $39,301 $35,824 2025
Songbird Multimedia And Performing Arts Foundation AR$176,810 President $17,925 $19,403 2023
Disco Riot CA$177,873 President $18,000 $14,163 2025
Phffft Company Inc WA$178,138 President $46,374 $38,835 2024
Off Broadway Theatre Inc UT$178,792 Artistic Dir $43,440 $41,585 2024
I Sound Performing Arts CA$181,555 Executive Dir $3,500 $2,827 2024
Inta Inc NY$149,778 Artistic Director $83,662 $72,800 2023
California Music Center CA$148,884 Execdir To 6 $42,461 $34,294 2024
Boerne Performing Arts TX$146,986 Artistic/tech Coordinator $20,000 $18,713 2024
Manassas Community Chorale Inc VA$146,889 Executive Director And Vu Coordinator $9,171 $8,283 2024
51 Walden Inc MA$187,311 Secretary And Director $38,521 $31,543 2025
Instaballet OR$188,635 Executive Di $63,580 $53,803 2025
Arete Living Arts Foundation NY$191,016 Executive Director $3,854 $3,354 2023
Gabriel Chamber Ensemble PA$191,691 Exec Director $11,644 $10,861 2024
Brooklynone Productions Inc NY$192,847 Officer $27,470 $23,218 2024
Bay Area Omni Foundation For CA$192,946 President $35,200 $29,270 2023
Ra-ve Cultural Foundation Inc AR$195,135 Executive Director $31,416 $34,006 2023
Creative Arts Repertoire Ensemble MI$195,311 Director $7,500 $7,240 2024
Youth Excellence Performing Arts Workshop OH$137,763 Executive Director $29,565 $29,289 2024
Dance Canvas Inc GA$202,673 Executive Artistic Director $104,000 $97,810 2024
Allens Community Theatre TX$205,139 At Large $1,275 $1,228 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to ND cost of living and 2025 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 ND 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 default11th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)9th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted12th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted11th

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 (Amber Benoit) 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 66 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $6,000 is reasonable (approximately the 11th 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.