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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Florida Litfest Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 463527772
FL · NTEE A20
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sara Marchessault, Executive Director / CEO ($32,917) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 299 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 21st percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Sara Marchessault — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

299 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 299 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$300 total compensation of comparable organizations → $244,819 $32,917
$15,13210th
$36,98025th
$63,012Median
$83,26875th
$101,69390th
$32,917This org · 21st
p10$15,132
p25$36,980
p50$63,012
p75$83,268
p90$101,693
$32,917

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 FL 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
Long X Arts Foundation ND$465,178 Executive Director $66,000 $77,099 2024
Friends Of The Big Fresno Fair CA$465,674 Ceo $27,194 $24,352 2025
Tidewater Arts Outreach VA$463,432 Executive Di $62,199 $62,281 2025
Sweet Pea A Festival Of The Arts MT$466,716 Executive Dir. $65,385 $75,026 2024
Marshall County Arts And Culture Allianc IA$462,713 Executive Director $85,000 $99,071 2024
World Around Inc NY$461,660 Executive Director $120,000 $118,836 2023
Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance Inc NY$468,488 Executive Director $84,423 $83,605 2023
Professional Numismatists Guild Inc CA$468,503 Executive Director $83,948 $77,164 2024
Parent Child Relationship Association Inc NY$459,625 Executive Director $57,487 $55,297 2024
Chippewa Valley Cultural WI$458,863 Executive Di $77,032 $85,637 2024
Southington Community CT$471,460 Executive Di $68,600 $68,468 2024
Masspoetry Inc MA$457,856 Executive Di $90,157 $86,241 2024
Topa Institute CA$457,437 Ceo $109,298 $100,465 2024
Art House Inc OH$457,186 Executive Di $57,250 $64,547 2024
Push Dance Company CA$472,448 Ceo $56,996 $52,390 2024
Operation Song Inc TN$456,425 Current Executive Director/former Board Member $71,808 $82,721 2023
Unity Earth Inc NY$473,855 Treasurer & C.f.o. $33,750 $33,423 2023
The Primavera Fund PA$453,711 President An $68,239 $72,438 2024
James Gang IA$453,059 Treasurer $10,891 $12,694 2024
Colab Arts Inc NJ$476,703 Producing Di $59,615 $55,198 2025
Dynamo Studios TN$452,164 Executive Director $109,649 $122,688 2024
Sacred Heart Cultural Center Inc GA$451,291 Executive Director $85,853 $91,890 2024
Good Shepherd Radio Inc IN$478,421 President $79,156 $91,482 2023
Luminaria TX$478,477 Executive Dir. $73,172 $80,216 2023
Columbia Festival Inc MD$478,660 Managing Director $60,394 $60,104 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to FL 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 FL 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 default21st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)22nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted23rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted20th

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 (Sara Marchessault) 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 299 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $32,917 is reasonable (approximately the 21st 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.