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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Freedom Arts And Education Center

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 461476978
MO · NTEE A25
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Andrew Gibson, Executive Director / CEO ($28,940) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 120 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 38th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

120 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 120 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$141 total compensation of comparable organizations → $125,973 $28,940
$13,65510th
$23,80725th
$37,979Median
$55,31675th
$71,74690th
$28,940This org · 38th
p10$13,655
p25$23,807
p50$37,979
p75$55,316
p90$71,746
$28,940

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 MO 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
Scalehouse OR$216,997 Executive Director $20,000 $17,033 2024
Frank Hamilton School Inc GA$216,509 Executive Director $18,200 $16,782 2024
Ruckusroots Inc CA$215,420 Executive Director $65,799 $53,644 2023
Creative Hearts Inc NY$218,781 Director $33,800 $28,009 2024
Extra Mile Student Center WA$218,788 Executive Director $60,000 $50,718 2023
National Parks Arts Foundation NM$214,695 President $57,500 $56,715 2024
Hawkeye Indian Cultural Center Inc NC$213,614 Executive Dir. $1,400 $1,293 2025
Michigan Arts Access MI$213,518 Executive Di $46,000 $43,542 2024
Lamb Center For Arts And Healing VA$220,347 Executive Dir. $78,000 $71,106 2023
Day Ii Day Foundation Inc CA$213,010 President & Ceo $60,500 $49,324 2023
Small School Inc NC$212,051 Chairman $102,000 $96,652 2024
North Country Studio Workshops Inc NH$221,522 Exec. Director $20,024 $16,519 2025
Artists Open Studio Inc OH$211,752 Executive Di $19,600 $19,038 2024
Gustavo Dudamel Foundation Inc NY$222,977 Director Of Programs $42,000 $35,833 2023
Chautauqua Regional Youth Ballet NY$223,805 Executive Di $42,482 $36,244 2023
Fireweed Community Woodshop MN$209,199 Pollinator $39,997 $37,314 2023
Turning The Wheel Productions Inc CO$224,442 Facilitatorcoordinator $37,338 $33,803 2023
Artworks For Milwaukee Inc WI$224,879 Executive Director $54,615 $52,307 2024
Northwest Arts Center WA$208,548 Executive Dir. $27,000 $22,823 2023
Arts A L Inc FL$207,356 Executive Director $80,250 $71,178 2023
Blackstone Valley Music And Performing Arts Collab MA$226,728 President $17,348 $13,928 2025
Humanity Hale HI$206,626 Executive Dir. $27,580 $23,313 2023
Light Industry Cinema Projects Ltd NY$226,957 Director $30,050 $24,902 2024
Southwest Judges Network CA$228,462 Vice President $1,000 $771 2025
Hamilton-garrett Music And Arts Academy Inc MA$229,235 Executive Director $87,447 $72,064 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MO 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 MO 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 default38th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)29th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted38th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted35th

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 (Andrew Gibson) 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 120 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A25), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $28,940 is reasonable (approximately the 38th 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.