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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Opera Project Columbus Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 452324535
OH · NTEE A600
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Megan Wetzel, Executive Director / CEO ($7,600) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 113 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 12th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Megan Wetzel — reported title “SECRETARY”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

113 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 113 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$549 total compensation of comparable organizations → $95,897 $7,600
$7,11510th
$18,37625th
$33,624Median
$52,75175th
$64,23390th
$7,600This org · 12th
p10$7,115
p25$18,376
p50$33,624
p75$52,751
p90$64,233
$7,600

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
Bruka Theater Of The Sierra Inc NV$215,521 Executive Director $28,620 $27,086 2023
Steel City Improv Theater PA$215,164 Interim Executive Director $60,370 $56,841 2023
Corrib Theatre OR$219,389 Managing Director $63,358 $55,552 2023
East Side Arts Council MN$213,627 Executive Dir. $40,810 $36,980 2024
Blackstone River Theatre RI$213,507 Executive Director $72,538 $65,670 2023
Base Academy Of Music MO$220,833 Executive Director $29,692 $28,840 2024
Freed Performing Arts Inc FL$211,849 President $36,000 $31,930 2023
Vineyard Arts Project Limited MA$221,556 Founder And Artistic Director $97,846 $83,015 2023
The Square Foot Theatre Company Inc CT$222,033 Excutive Director & Co-founder $12,379 $10,958 2023
Experiments In Opera NY$211,152 Executive Director $12,000 $9,688 2025
Mosaic Steel Orchestra VA$222,867 President $70,763 $64,509 2023
Wonderlust Productions MN$223,119 Board Member And Co-artistic Director $44,750 $41,748 2023
Resonance Works PA$223,259 Board Member $600 $549 2024
Ovation Theatre CA$209,509 Executive Director $53,750 $42,564 2024
Theatre Art For Kids NE$208,967 President $23,333 $23,015 2024
Collide TX$224,510 Artistic Dir $47,000 $43,116 2024
Our Fabulous Variety Show Inc NY$208,492 Executive Di $33,648 $27,165 2025
Theater At The Center Inc IN$208,112 Administrator $44,677 $44,483 2023
Maryland Center For The Visual And Performing Arts Inc MD$207,895 Executive Director $22,000 $18,376 2025
Hancock County Childrens Choir Ltd IN$225,638 Board Chair, Executive Director $21,845 $21,126 2024
State Theatre Preservation Society PA$207,334 President $3,116 $2,934 2023
Starring Buffalo Inc NY$206,183 Executive Director $15,000 $12,110 2025
Allens Community Theatre TX$205,139 At Large $1,275 $1,204 2023
Bach Society Of Dayton Inc OH$230,536 Music Director $15,000 $14,194 2025
Dance Canvas Inc GA$202,673 Executive Artistic Director $104,000 $95,897 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 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 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 default12th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)11th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted12th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted12th

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 (Megan Wetzel) 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 113 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $7,600 is reasonable (approximately the 12th 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.