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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

40 West Arts Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 452729060
CO · NTEE A20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Liz Black, Executive Director / CEO ($38,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 313 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 39th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Liz Black — reported title “PT Exec Director”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

313 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 313 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$294 total compensation of comparable organizations → $157,848 $38,000
$8,77110th
$25,46825th
$46,208Median
$65,35975th
$81,68090th
$38,000This org · 39th
p10$8,771
p25$25,468
p50$46,208
p75$65,359
p90$81,680
$38,000

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 CO 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
Center For Performing Arts Minneapolis MN$282,382 Executive Director $48,493 $49,971 2024
Discovery Trail Inc NY$280,393 Executive Director $70,510 $64,735 2025
Oklahoma Community Based Providers OK$280,393 Executive Dir. $92,500 $109,360 2023
Wormfarm Institute Inc WI$280,067 Director $74,000 $80,597 2024
Bee Cave Arts Foundation TX$283,079 Board President $340 $365 2023
Italian Cultural Center MN$279,445 Director - Adult Language School $23,356 $24,779 2023
Outspokane WA$284,055 Executive Director $70,000 $65,359 2024
Flamenco Works Inc NM$278,587 Vice Preside $35,000 $39,259 2024
Wombwork Productions Inc MD$285,003 Executive Dir. $40,455 $39,444 2024
Le Mondo MD$285,096 Executive Director $59,808 $60,036 2023
Meetinghouse Arts ME$277,723 Executive Director $50,000 $52,214 2024
International Network Of Creatives FL$285,495 President/di $115,962 $113,609 2024
Next Edge Arts Inc NY$277,332 Artistic Dir $10,250 $9,945 2023
Makeshift WA$286,163 Executive Director $20,825 $19,444 2024
Mccoy Rigby Arts Inc CA$286,386 President $14,280 $13,240 2023
People And Stories Gente Y Cuentos NJ$276,496 Exec. Direct $69,731 $64,929 2024
Suntan Art Center Inc FL$286,604 Co-director $20,254 $19,843 2024
Boston Art Review Inc MA$276,312 President $74,906 $70,198 2024
Friends Of The Chief Foundation Inc CO$275,989 Executive Director $9,500 $10,997 2021
Arts Empowerment Project Inc NC$286,962 Ceo $50,000 $55,470 2023
Orion Art Center MI$275,474 Executive Di $53,309 $57,384 2024
Imagination Fort Worth TX$287,534 Executive Director $68,735 $73,823 2023
Brazilian Cultural Arts Center Of Santa Barbara CA$288,472 Presidentceo $34,500 $31,986 2023
Berwin Art Education Center NJ$288,494 President $63,000 $60,394 2023
Godfrey Daniels PA$274,421 Executive Director $40,000 $41,600 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CO 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 CO 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 default39th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)38th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted84th

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 (Liz Black) 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 313 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $38,000 is reasonable (approximately the 39th 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.