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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Strawtown Art & Garden Studio Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 453205679
NY · NTEE A90
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Laurie Seeman, Executive Director / CEO ($133,552) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 19 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 100th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Laurie Seeman — reported title “EXEC DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

19 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 19 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$3,359 total compensation of comparable organizations → $103,393 $133,552
$9,45210th
$37,31325th
$57,068Median
$74,50775th
$81,21390th
$133,552This org · 100th
p10$9,452
p25$37,313
p50$57,068
p75$74,507
p90$81,213
$133,552

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 NY 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
Chester County Bar Foundation PA$244,364 Executive Di $2,957 $3,359 2023
Arts On Site Nyc Inc NY$245,657 Executive Director $4,800 $4,942 2023
The Foundation For The Spiritual Practice Of Creativity CA$248,898 President Ceo $62,192 $61,186 2023
Roswell Museum & Art Center NM$230,692 Executive Director $34,700 $42,522 2023
American Master Chefs Orders KS$230,244 Executive Director $61,200 $73,168 2024
Cultural Alliance Of Fairfield CT$219,315 Executive Di $71,000 $75,846 2023
Patronus Group Inc TX$218,550 Secretary $29,319 $33,415 2023
Tri-county Arts Council Inc NY$269,033 Executive Dir. $63,140 $65,005 2023
Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers For The Arts PA$213,248 Executive Director $91,000 $103,393 2023
Side By Side Studio Inc KY$211,784 Executive Director $47,999 $57,068 2024
Music Education & Performing OR$282,582 Executive Di $10,000 $10,580 2023
Hatch Workshop CA$190,649 Executive Dir. $43,125 $41,210 2024
North Dakota Bar Foundation Inc ND$300,885 Secretary/treasurer $37,378 $45,394 2024
Detroit Artists Market MI$305,171 Director $40,385 $47,492 2023
Harvestworks Inc NY$312,557 Executive Dir. $58,576 $58,576 2024
Humanities Amped LA$316,573 Co Director $66,229 $78,625 2025
Heal The Hood Foundation Of Memphis TN$328,777 Ceo/executive Director $28,550 $33,211 2024
Creative Girls Rock TN$334,820 Executive Di $68,106 $79,224 2024
Loose Ends Project WA$344,763 Exec Director $90,000 $89,171 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY 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 NY 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 default100th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)100th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted100th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted89th

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 (Laurie Seeman) 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 19 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A90), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $133,552 is reasonable (approximately the 100th 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.