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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

American Dance Machine For The 21st Century

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 454525764
NY · NTEE A62
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Nikki Feirt Atkins Md, Executive Director / CEO ($5,250) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 49 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 14th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Nikki Feirt Atkins Md — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

49 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 49 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$966 total compensation of comparable organizations → $99,569 $5,250
$4,63810th
$13,79025th
$29,463Median
$51,66475th
$71,69090th
$5,250This org · 14th
p10$4,638
p25$13,790
p50$29,463
p75$51,664
p90$71,690
$5,250

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
Flamenco Denver CO$156,978 Executive Dir. $55,434 $57,136 2024
Mashup Contemporary Dance Company CA$158,587 Executive Direcor $9,728 $9,029 2024
Thresh Inc NY$145,439 Executive Director $84,000 $81,590 2024
Dancing Classrooms Greater Richmond VA$145,056 Executive Di $51,217 $54,726 2023
Steamboat Dance Theatre CO$166,190 Executive Dir. $28,585 $29,463 2024
Vangeline Theater Inc NY$167,010 Artistic Director, Board Member, Teacher $58,100 $58,100 2023
Exit 12 Dance Company Inc NY$137,207 Executive Director & Board Director $4,956 $4,814 2024
Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater Inc MN$135,508 Co-artistic Director $24,000 $26,244 2023
Wild Space Inc WI$173,970 Managing Dir $26,594 $29,854 2024
Santa Barbara Dance Institute CA$131,986 Executive Dir. $75,000 $69,613 2024
Thin Man Dance Inc NY$175,747 Board Member/executive And Artistic Director $60,000 $60,000 2023
Center For Modern Dance Education Inc NJ$180,036 Artistic Director $21,150 $19,775 2025
Kyl Dancers Inc PA$125,561 Executive Director $42,500 $45,557 2024
Danceworks Chicago Inc Nfp IL$183,426 Executive Dir. $62,246 $64,083 2025
Calidanza Dance Company CA$185,250 C/o $18,575 $17,241 2024
Anikaya Akhra Inc MA$185,771 Artistic Director $9,700 $9,370 2024
Nca Dance Studio CA$188,340 Director $4,421 $4,225 2023
Keigwin And Company Inc NY$190,606 Executive Di $51,458 $51,458 2023
Fist & Heel Performance Group NY$191,790 Executive Director $35,800 $34,773 2024
Gloatl Inc GA$114,312 Founding Artist $14,000 $15,578 2023
Philadelphia Dance Projects PA$111,022 Executive Di $4,000 $4,177 2025
Ballet Des Ameriques School & Company Inc NY$195,967 Pres/exec Director $33,866 $32,894 2024
Huntington Dance Theatre Ltd WV$203,908 Studio Director $11,600 $13,500 2024
Leap Of Faith Arts Ministries IL$204,024 Director $18,819 $20,474 2023
Edge School Of The Arts Dance Legacy Inc NY$204,650 Director $80,000 $80,000 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY 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 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 default14th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)14th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted16th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted14th

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 (Nikki Feirt Atkins Md) 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 49 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A62), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $5,250 is reasonable (approximately the 14th 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.