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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Arts Empowerment Project Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 454837497
NC · NTEE A20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Natalie Allen, Executive Director / CEO ($50,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 315 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 61st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Natalie Allen — reported title “CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

315 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 315 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$265 total compensation of comparable organizations → $142,282 $50,000
$8,04710th
$23,06025th
$41,785Median
$60,13575th
$73,70190th
$50,000This org · 61st
p10$8,047
p25$23,060
p50$41,785
p75$60,135
p90$73,701
$50,000

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 NC 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
Suntan Art Center Inc FL$286,604 Co-director $20,254 $17,886 2024
Imagination Fort Worth TX$287,534 Executive Director $68,735 $66,543 2023
Mccoy Rigby Arts Inc CA$286,386 President $14,280 $11,934 2023
Makeshift WA$286,163 Executive Director $20,825 $17,527 2024
International Network Of Creatives FL$285,495 President/di $115,962 $102,405 2024
Brazilian Cultural Arts Center Of Santa Barbara CA$288,472 Presidentceo $34,500 $28,832 2023
Berwin Art Education Center NJ$288,494 President $63,000 $54,438 2023
Le Mondo MD$285,096 Executive Director $59,808 $54,115 2023
Wombwork Productions Inc MD$285,003 Executive Dir. $40,455 $35,554 2024
Studio Ace CA$289,356 Director $50,000 $41,785 2023
Western Ny Book Arts Collaborative Inc NY$289,491 Executive Dir. $53,000 $46,350 2023
Outspokane WA$284,055 Executive Director $70,000 $58,914 2024
Hispanic Connection Of Southern Indiana Inc IN$290,832 President $42,016 $41,652 2024
Bee Cave Arts Foundation TX$283,079 Board President $340 $329 2023
Center For Performing Arts Minneapolis MN$282,382 Executive Director $48,493 $45,044 2024
Emerge Cda Inc ID$291,699 Executive Director $41,358 $41,358 2024
Kc Fringe Festival Inc MO$291,863 Executive Director $50,014 $49,796 2024
40 West Arts Inc CO$281,460 Pt Exec Director $38,000 $34,253 2024
Newaygo County Council For The Arts Inc MI$293,520 Executive Director $45,497 $44,145 2024
Discovery Trail Inc NY$280,393 Executive Director $70,510 $58,351 2025
Oklahoma Community Based Providers OK$280,393 Executive Dir. $92,500 $98,576 2023
Wormfarm Institute Inc WI$280,067 Director $74,000 $72,649 2024
Italian Cultural Center MN$279,445 Director - Adult Language School $23,356 $22,335 2023
Ballet Of York County SC$295,261 Artistic /Studio Director $52,738 $51,720 2024
Flamenco Works Inc NM$278,587 Vice Preside $35,000 $35,387 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NC 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 NC 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 default61st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)53rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted61st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted59th

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 (Natalie Allen) 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 315 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $50,000 is reasonable (approximately the 61st 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.