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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Acansa Arts Festival

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 461594961
AR · NTEE A99
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Leslie Golden, Executive Director / CEO ($71,667) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 97 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 88th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Leslie Golden — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

97 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 97 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$647 total compensation of comparable organizations → $101,874 $71,667
$10,11510th
$30,66125th
$46,133Median
$63,97975th
$75,82890th
$71,667This org · 88th
p10$10,115
p25$30,661
p50$46,133
p75$63,979
p90$75,828
$71,667

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 AR 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
Alabama River Region Ballet School AL$316,385 Vice Preside $39,984 $38,429 2024
Cinestory Inc CA$319,934 Executive Director $32,700 $24,473 2025
Shipyard Trust For The Arts CA$321,074 President Ceo $118,920 $94,054 2023
The King's Canvas Gallery & Studio AL$313,626 Executive Director $65,000 $64,318 2023
Foundation For Spirituality And The SC$313,589 Foundation Manager $85,863 $79,690 2024
Dance Film Sf Inc CA$312,344 Interim Executive Director $68,950 $54,533 2023
Mizna MN$322,960 Executive Director $83,270 $73,200 2024
Hopewell Music Cooperative-north MN$323,455 Executive Director $40,778 $35,847 2024
Creativity Unlimited Arts Council NE$310,877 Executive Di $51,249 $49,038 2024
Connectfaith Inc NY$330,383 Executive Director $48,000 $38,587 2024
Valley Shore Community Television Inc CT$303,094 Executive Director $21,971 $18,868 2023
Providence Neighborhood Planting Program RI$303,001 Executive Director $50,759 $43,300 2024
Indiana Artisan Inc IN$302,906 President $55,000 $51,600 2024
Chopsticks Alley Art CA$302,349 Executive Director $78,375 $60,208 2024
Vietnamese American Organization - Vao CA$299,478 Executive Director $23,209 $18,356 2023
Filipino American Symphony Orchestra CA$299,219 Executive Director $71,936 $56,894 2023
Los Angeles Indigenous Peoples' Alliance CA$336,000 Director $6,000 $4,609 2024
City Of Miami Black Police Precinct FL$292,864 Executive Di $83,077 $69,432 2024
Sol Treasures Inc CA$343,778 Executive Dir. $83,334 $64,018 2024
Portsmouth Museums Foundation VA$290,118 Interim Executive Director $53,840 $46,248 2024
Leu Civic Center Inc IL$288,552 Executive Di $34,774 $30,414 2024
Save The Hampton House Incorporated IL$287,280 President And Chairman $48,846 $43,984 2023
Recreation Foundation Inc OR$286,403 President $30,000 $25,517 2023
Drag Story Hour CA$349,890 E.d. To 12/23 $66,058 $50,746 2024
Minnesota Council Of Teachers Of Mathematics MN$281,564 Executive Director $11,220 $10,154 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AR 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 AR 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 default88th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)69th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted88th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted84th

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 (Leslie Golden) 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 97 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $71,667 is reasonable (approximately the 88th 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.