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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Hear Now Music Festival

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 471040885
CA · NTEE A99
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Hugh Levick, Executive Director / CEO ($40,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 22 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 41st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Hugh Levick — reported title “PRESIDENT AND ARTISTIC DIRECT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

22 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 22 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,300 total compensation of comparable organizations → $128,808 $40,500
$7,43810th
$32,80425th
$50,501Median
$75,84575th
$84,67690th
$40,500This org · 41st
p10$7,438
p25$32,804
p50$50,501
p75$75,845
p90$84,676
$40,500

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 CA 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
Studio 395 Foundation CA$265,130 Ceo $39,520 $38,386 2024
Filipino American Symphony Orchestra CA$299,219 Executive Director $71,936 $71,936 2023
Vietnamese American Organization - Vao CA$299,478 Executive Director $23,209 $23,209 2023
Chopsticks Alley Art CA$302,349 Executive Director $78,375 $76,126 2024
Mariachi Womens Foundation CA$253,146 Executive Dir. $50,000 $50,000 2023
Dance Film Sf Inc CA$312,344 Interim Executive Director $68,950 $68,950 2023
Cinestory Inc CA$319,934 Executive Director $32,700 $30,943 2025
Shipyard Trust For The Arts CA$321,074 President Ceo $118,920 $118,920 2023
Blindspot Collective CA$229,118 Director $21,925 $21,925 2023
Los Angeles Indigenous Peoples' Alliance CA$336,000 Director $6,000 $5,828 2024
Firehouse Projects CA$220,000 Director $75,000 $75,000 2023
5p Society CA$219,370 Executive Vp $50,000 $48,566 2024
Sol Treasures Inc CA$343,778 Executive Dir. $83,334 $80,943 2024
Marin Open Studios CA$212,519 Executive Dir. $52,507 $51,001 2024
Space Cowboys Collective CA$211,775 Chief Executive Officer $1,300 $1,300 2023
Ventura Audubon Society CA$211,531 Director $3,789 $3,680 2024
Broad Room Creative Collective Sacramento CA$211,336 Executive Director $41,204 $40,022 2024
Drag Story Hour CA$349,890 E.d. To 12/23 $66,058 $64,163 2024
Glendale Arts CA$199,034 Ceo $89,804 $84,979 2025
D2is Foundation CA$382,720 President $40,327 $40,327 2023
Demolay International 73000 Northern California CA$390,765 Executive Director $81,946 $81,946 2023
De Colores Arts CA$393,608 Executive Director $132,613 $128,808 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA cost of living and 2023 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 CA 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 default41st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)36th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted45th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted41st

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 (Hugh Levick) 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 22 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A99) + CA + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $40,500 is reasonable (approximately the 41st 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.