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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Southington Community

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 453617168
CT · NTEE A20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Diann Thomson, Executive Director / CEO ($68,600) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 297 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 55th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Diann Thomson — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

297 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 297 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$301 total compensation of comparable organizations → $245,292 $68,600
$16,27510th
$38,04825th
$64,384Median
$85,14375th
$102,00590th
$68,600This org · 55th
p10$16,275
p25$38,048
p50$64,384
p75$85,143
p90$102,005
$68,600

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 CT 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
Push Dance Company CA$472,448 Ceo $56,996 $52,491 2024
Unity Earth Inc NY$473,855 Treasurer & C.f.o. $33,750 $33,488 2023
Professional Numismatists Guild Inc CA$468,503 Executive Director $83,948 $77,313 2024
Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance Inc NY$468,488 Executive Director $84,423 $83,767 2023
Sweet Pea A Festival Of The Arts MT$466,716 Executive Dir. $65,385 $75,171 2024
Colab Arts Inc NJ$476,703 Producing Di $59,615 $55,305 2025
Friends Of The Big Fresno Fair CA$465,674 Ceo $27,194 $24,399 2025
Long X Arts Foundation ND$465,178 Executive Director $66,000 $77,248 2024
Florida Litfest Inc FL$464,718 Executive Di $32,917 $32,981 2024
Good Shepherd Radio Inc IN$478,421 President $79,156 $91,659 2023
Luminaria TX$478,477 Executive Dir. $73,172 $80,371 2023
Columbia Festival Inc MD$478,660 Managing Director $60,394 $60,220 2024
Tidewater Arts Outreach VA$463,432 Executive Di $62,199 $62,401 2025
Montez Press Arts Inc NY$479,513 Ex-officio Board Mem $75,532 $72,794 2024
Marshall County Arts And Culture Allianc IA$462,713 Executive Director $85,000 $99,262 2024
World Around Inc NY$461,660 Executive Director $120,000 $119,066 2023
Parent Child Relationship Association Inc NY$459,625 Executive Director $57,487 $55,403 2024
Hudson River Music Hall Productions Inc NY$483,329 Managing Director $60,000 $57,825 2024
Chippewa Valley Cultural WI$458,863 Executive Di $77,032 $85,803 2024
Media Art Xploration Inc NY$484,096 Director $52,000 $51,596 2023
Masspoetry Inc MA$457,856 Executive Di $90,157 $86,407 2024
Topa Institute CA$457,437 Ceo $109,298 $100,659 2024
Art House Inc OH$457,186 Executive Di $57,250 $64,671 2024
Operation Song Inc TN$456,425 Current Executive Director/former Board Member $71,808 $82,880 2023
Hagood Mill Foundation SC$488,532 Executive Di $62,400 $69,430 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CT 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 CT 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 default55th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)59th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted57th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted53rd

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 (Diann Thomson) 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 297 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $68,600 is reasonable (approximately the 55th 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.