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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Kelly Music For Life

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 461605838
PA · NTEE A68
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Thomas Kelly, Executive Director / CEO ($39,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 180 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 37th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

180 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 180 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$113 total compensation of comparable organizations → $129,147 $39,000
$13,57810th
$30,08225th
$48,957Median
$68,41875th
$87,59790th
$39,000This org · 37th
p10$13,578
p25$30,082
p50$48,957
p75$68,418
p90$87,597
$39,000

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 PA 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
Music At Kohl Mansion Inc CA$336,836 Exec. Dir. $90,417 $80,605 2023
Virginia Chamber Music Foundation VA$337,034 Coartistic Director $8,000 $7,746 2024
Academie Musique TX$338,017 Director $45,743 $44,702 2025
Academy Of Neurologic Music Therapy CO$338,999 Director $60,925 $58,582 2024
St Louis Cathedral Concerts MO$340,628 Executive Dir. $71,798 $76,256 2024
Los Pleneros De La 21 Inc NY$340,822 Executive Director $91,006 $82,464 2024
Anthology Of Recorded Music Inc NY$330,999 Vice President & Secretary $112,450 $104,904 2023
Goat In The Road Productions LA$329,022 Co-artistic Director $52,916 $56,923 2025
Indianapolis Mens Chorus Incorporated IN$343,096 Executive Director $85,000 $87,569 2025
Make Music Alliance Inc NY$328,374 Executive Director $9,692 $8,556 2025
Danbury Music Centre CT$327,415 President $14,615 $13,387 2025
Orchestrating Dreams Inc NY$344,729 Executive Director $51,500 $46,666 2024
Moon & Stars Foundation CO$326,461 Executive Director $40,498 $37,937 2025
Keeping The Blues Alive Foundation FL$326,367 President $41,958 $40,693 2023
Braver Players Musical Theater Foundation CA$326,173 President $50,000 $43,295 2024
Hip Kids Inc MA$346,232 President $32,150 $28,971 2024
Bronx Conservatory Of Music Inc NY$346,450 Executive Director $20,108 $18,759 2023
Young Texas Artists Inc TX$346,705 President $43,550 $44,974 2023
Overture Band Programs Inc WI$325,285 President/treas. $72,755 $74,230 2025
Mount Desert Festival Of Chamber Music ME$325,266 Executive Director $13,140 $13,584 2023
Jazz Houston TX$346,941 Ceo $81,400 $81,651 2024
Jacarandamusic CA$347,407 Artistic & E $48,000 $41,563 2024
Creative Arts Alliance TX$347,413 Executive Director $37,400 $38,624 2023
Cellobello Inc MA$323,408 Executive Director $101,952 $91,870 2024
Master Musicians Festival Inc KY$323,246 Executive Di $54,799 $59,038 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to PA 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 PA 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 default37th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)34th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted38th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted37th

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 (Thomas Kelly) 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 180 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A68), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $39,000 is reasonable (approximately the 37th 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.