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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Performing Arts Academy Of New

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 455117346
TX · NTEE A60
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sherry Bettersworth, Executive Director / CEO ($29,996) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 147 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 31st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Sherry Bettersworth — reported title “Chairman”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

147 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 147 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $107,952 $29,996
$11,81610th
$25,60225th
$46,478Median
$61,49175th
$76,45690th
$29,996This org · 31st
p10$11,816
p25$25,602
p50$46,478
p75$61,491
p90$76,456
$29,996

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 TX 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
Yes And Collaborative Arts PA$314,678 Executive Director $32,490 $32,390 2024
Atlanta Dance Theatre Inc GA$315,215 Artistic Dir $65,078 $65,414 2024
Reno Dance Company NV$311,005 Executive Director $15,000 $15,031 2024
Arts For Kids Inc NJ$316,270 Executive Director $57,868 $50,319 2025
Xelias Aerial Arts Studio MN$309,842 Executive Director $96,000 $92,384 2025
Sandglass Center For Puppetry & Theater Research Ltd VT$318,179 Board Member And Artistic Director $37,556 $38,905 2023
Youth Dance Ensemble And School MN$306,706 Executive Director $60,468 $58,191 2025
Ghostlight Productions Inc MI$306,295 General Manager & Artistic Director $39,250 $40,500 2024
Mishpachah Inc OH$321,109 Director $60,911 $66,399 2023
Bower Center For The Arts VA$321,721 Executive Director $63,750 $61,534 2024
Childrens Legacy Theatre Inc DC$322,058 Executive Director $51,970 $45,591 2024
Ankeny Friends Of The Arts IA$304,062 Executive Director $47,885 $53,962 2023
Teada Productions CA$323,308 President & $60,000 $50,459 2025
Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre MT$324,315 Associate Dir. $30,000 $32,328 2024
Christ In The Arts Of West Texas Inc TX$302,809 President $26,300 $25,622 2025
Katharsis Media NM$302,669 Executive Director $71,027 $76,370 2024
Brownbody MN$302,426 Executive Director $63,550 $64,629 2023
Unison Learning Center Inc NY$326,868 Executive Director $63,000 $58,592 2023
Odyssey Opera Of Boston Inc MA$327,762 Executive Director $106,167 $98,191 2023
Sino Us Performing Arts Organization CA$327,781 Secretary $62,699 $55,723 2023
Crossroads Creative & Performing Arts OR$327,878 Executive Director $63,167 $60,374 2023
North Bay Theatrics Inc CA$328,366 President $64,408 $57,241 2023
Staibdance Inc GA$328,628 Admin Director $40,000 $40,207 2024
Texan-french Alliance For The Arts TX$329,894 Executive Director $83,999 $86,480 2023
Rawdance CA$296,383 Director $3,802 $3,282 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TX 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 TX 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 default31st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)31st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted32nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted31st

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 (Sherry Bettersworth) 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 147 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $29,996 is reasonable (approximately the 31st 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.