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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Guardians Of Sound

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 464562155
PA · NTEE A68
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Michael Chapman, Executive Director / CEO ($48,200) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 167 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 61st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

167 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 167 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$113 total compensation of comparable organizations → $150,678 $48,200
$10,83510th
$22,78925th
$41,477Median
$60,97575th
$83,20290th
$48,200This org · 61st
p10$10,835
p25$22,789
p50$41,477
p75$60,975
p90$83,202
$48,200

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
American Harp Society Inc MA$254,201 Executive Director $59,600 $55,292 2023
Opus Community Music School Inc MD$254,890 Executive Director/teacher $47,417 $44,453 2024
Mencius Society For The Arts Inc NY$256,991 Executive Di $34,793 $30,714 2025
Music In Place CA$258,414 Mkting Adm Off. $39,708 $34,383 2024
Montana Chamber Music Society MT$249,956 Director $108 $113 2025
Mallarme Chamber Players Inc NC$249,676 Artistic Director $77,004 $79,786 2024
Rock Central Inc WI$259,349 Executive Di $18,886 $19,779 2024
Contemporaneous Inc NY$249,614 Director $30,057 $27,236 2024
Etm-massachusetts Inc MA$260,492 Exective Director $94,688 $87,845 2023
Asheville Music School Sound Education NC$247,759 Ex Officio $43,403 $43,812 2025
Border Crossing MN$261,798 Exec Director $85,906 $82,927 2025
Renovation In Music Education DC$262,501 President $119,086 $107,886 2023
Campbell Learning Center Inc TX$246,185 Director $58,994 $60,924 2023
Colorado Music Bridge CO$245,716 Co-exec Director $18,000 $17,819 2023
Music Heals International CA$245,634 Founder/exec $44,550 $38,576 2024
Asociacion Suzuki De Puerto Rico Inc PR$244,801 Administrator $35,132 $35,132 2024
New Orleans Arts & Cultural Host LA$264,844 Executive Di $42,000 $46,376 2024
Girls Rock Des Moines IA$265,402 Executive Director $33,280 $36,541 2024
The Claflin Hill Music Performance MA$265,767 Exec & Artistic Director $60,324 $55,964 2023
The Impact Project NY$265,968 Director $59,250 $53,688 2024
International Tuba Euphonium Association CT$266,921 Executive Director $24,996 $22,896 2025
Crescendo Inc CT$241,857 Founding And Artistic Director $30,000 $28,206 2024
Music City Artist Development CA$267,297 Executive Director $6,955 $6,022 2024
Envelop CA$267,859 Executive Dir. $106,000 $91,785 2024
Poss Music Works Nfp IL$240,849 Executive Director $20,000 $19,208 2025

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 default61st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)60th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted62nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted60th

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 (Michael Chapman) 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 167 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A68), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $48,200 is reasonable (approximately the 61st 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.