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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Detroit Puppet Company

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 461145719
MI · NTEE A60
FY ending 2024-08-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Carrie Morris, Executive Director / CEO ($30,727) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 133 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 40th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

133 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 133 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $101,311 $30,727
$7,67510th
$20,01225th
$39,068Median
$56,39575th
$67,85990th
$30,727This org · 40th
p10$7,675
p25$20,012
p50$39,068
p75$56,395
p90$67,859
$30,727

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 MI 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
Dramaworks A Ca Nonprofit Benefit Corp CA$239,759 Vice President $18,000 $15,504 2023
Professional Theatre And Dance IL$234,365 Artistic Dir $50,112 $46,500 2025
Cerimon House OR$233,601 Artistic Director $88,269 $81,762 2023
Pegasus Musical Society TX$233,365 Artistic Director $51,000 $49,426 2024
Columbia Basin Allied Arts WA$231,970 Executive Di $40,126 $34,805 2024
Theatre Philadelphia PA$244,133 Former Exec $50,043 $49,777 2023
Bach Society Of Dayton Inc OH$230,536 Music Director $15,000 $14,995 2025
Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance Inc TX$244,940 Executive & Artistic Director $55,125 $55,001 2023
The Catamounts Nfp CO$245,928 Artistic Director $26,725 $24,827 2024
Augustana Arts Inc CO$247,305 Executive Director $68,750 $62,222 2025
Center Stage Dance Studio CA$248,693 President $6,171 $5,163 2024
Hancock County Childrens Choir Ltd IN$225,638 Board Chair, Executive Director $21,845 $22,319 2024
Push Physical Theatre Inc NY$250,182 Ceo & Artistic Director $53,700 $47,012 2024
Collide TX$224,510 Artistic Dir $47,000 $45,549 2024
St Lou Fringe MO$251,434 Executive Dir $64,995 $66,694 2024
Performing Arts Association Of St Joseph Inc MO$251,795 Executive Drector $43,600 $46,062 2023
Cepa Management Corporation AL$251,818 Executive Di $43,548 $45,580 2024
Resonance Works PA$223,259 Board Member $600 $580 2024
Wonderlust Productions MN$223,119 Board Member And Co-artistic Director $44,750 $44,106 2023
Mosaic Steel Orchestra VA$222,867 President $70,763 $68,150 2023
The Square Foot Theatre Company Inc CT$222,033 Excutive Director & Co-founder $12,379 $11,577 2023
Artcore Inc WY$253,622 Executive Director $19,800 $20,012 2025
Vineyard Arts Project Limited MA$221,556 Founder And Artistic Director $97,846 $87,702 2023
Base Academy Of Music MO$220,833 Executive Director $29,692 $30,468 2024
Corrib Theatre OR$219,389 Managing Director $63,358 $58,687 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MI 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 MI 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 default40th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)39th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted41st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted40th

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 (Carrie Morris) 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 133 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $30,727 is reasonable (approximately the 40th 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.