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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Rocky Mountain Highway

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 470990011
CO · NTEE A68
FY ending 2024-09-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jessica Barney, Executive Director / CEO ($36,458) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 141 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 46th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

141 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 141 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$118 total compensation of comparable organizations → $156,705 $36,458
$10,55510th
$21,48125th
$39,923Median
$55,83675th
$82,68290th
$36,458This org · 46th
p10$10,555
p25$21,481
p50$39,923
p75$55,836
p90$82,682
$36,458

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 CO 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
Camille Catherine Inc OH$215,685 Pres/sec/treas $79,000 $89,838 2023
Early Music Foundation Inc NY$214,692 General Manager $46,000 $44,630 2023
North Shore Music Alliance Inc IL$217,260 President $10,000 $10,555 2023
Great American Brass Band Festival Inc KY$211,712 Sponsorhip Coordinator $13,820 $15,086 2025
Soundcorps Inc TN$211,424 Former Executive Director $40,008 $43,857 2024
Baltimore Rock Opera Society Inc MD$221,609 Executive Director $15,833 $15,437 2024
Hausmann Quartet Foundation CA$221,963 President $25,917 $23,339 2024
We Are All Music Foundation Inc NJ$222,128 Chief Operating Officer $28,744 $26,764 2024
Piano Spheres CA$222,590 Executive Director $39,000 $34,216 2025
Ellsworth Community Music Institute ME$222,622 Artistic Dir $6,792 $7,093 2024
Siletz Bay Music Festival OR$222,643 Operations Manager $18,000 $17,433 2024
Southwest Roots Music Inc NM$207,751 Treasurer/executive Director $40,000 $46,192 2023
Elevar Foundation Inc FL$223,197 Executive Director $47,670 $48,082 2023
Marlow Guitar International Incorporated MD$223,339 Executive Director $33,600 $33,727 2023
The Music Coop MN$223,343 Managing Director $46,644 $49,486 2023
Music Conservatory Of Coeur D Alene Inc ID$207,388 Executive Operations Manager $14,800 $16,904 2023
City Park Jazz Inc CO$223,582 Executive Di $22,500 $22,500 2024
Wisconsin Music Educators WI$223,664 Executive Di $40,081 $44,944 2023
Oklahoma Philharmonic Affiliated Fund Of OK$223,708 Secretary $25,864 $30,578 2023
Tampa Metropolitan Youth Orchestra FL$206,773 Executive Di $15,000 $14,317 2025
Taiko Community Alliance CA$224,568 Executive Director $38,967 $35,091 2024
Aequalis Inc FL$204,241 Pres. & Treas. $16,623 $15,866 2025
Brooklyn Youth Music Project Inc NY$203,789 Artistic Dir $43,732 $41,212 2024
The Tidewater Winds VA$228,993 Executive Di $52,499 $54,426 2023
Methow Music Festival Association WA$201,532 Executive Director $10,540 $9,841 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CO 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 CO 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 default46th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)46th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted48th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted45th

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 (Jessica Barney) 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 141 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A68), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $36,458 is reasonable (approximately the 46th 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.