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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 471559298
CA · NTEE A60
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 10, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Urs Leonhardt Steiner, Executive Director / CEO ($35,730) 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 27th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Urs Leonhardt Steiner — reported title “MUSIC DIRECOTR”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable 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

$1,902 total compensation of comparable organizations → $115,279 $35,730
$12,51510th
$34,95925th
$62,136Median
$70,44975th
$104,22490th
$35,730This org · 27th
p10$12,515
p25$34,959
p50$62,136
p75$70,449
p90$104,224
$35,730

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
Celebration Arts CA$392,684 Executive Director $32,083 $32,932 2024
Del Sol Performing Arts CA$386,620 Assistant Se $42,815 $45,246 2023
Child Hope International CA$410,405 Executive Director $94,738 $97,245 2024
Luminary Arts Corporation CA$410,560 President $60,331 $61,927 2024
Prescott Circus Theatre CA$374,696 Executive Dir. $60,738 $62,345 2024
Conundrum Theatre Company Inc CA$424,860 Executive Direc $88,720 $91,067 2024
Katia And Company Inc CA$427,041 President $1,800 $1,902 2023
North Bay Theatrics Inc CA$328,366 President $64,408 $68,065 2023
Sino Us Performing Arts Organization CA$327,781 Secretary $62,699 $66,259 2023
Teada Productions CA$323,308 President & $60,000 $60,000 2025
Notable Music And Arts Organization CA$490,000 Officer, Director $30,000 $30,794 2024
Rawdance CA$296,383 Director $3,802 $3,903 2024
Kern Dance Alliance CA$501,948 Executive Dir. $112,308 $115,279 2024
Royal Stage Christian Performing Arts CA$286,993 Executive Director $11,000 $11,625 2023
Santa Clara Valley Performing Arts Association CA$282,072 Artistic Director $20,000 $20,529 2024
Carpinteria Community Theater Inc CA$281,492 Executive Director $50,000 $51,323 2024
Valley Of The Moon Music Festival CA$516,882 Other $39,983 $41,041 2024
Phantom Projects Educ Theater CA$516,942 Art Director $62,000 $63,640 2024
Audacity Performing Arts Project Inc CA$520,814 Ceo $105,000 $105,000 2025
Arts Enrichment For All CA$524,890 Ceo $67,463 $69,248 2024
Fern Street Community Arts Inc CA$588,555 Executive Director/co-founder $70,849 $70,849 2025
Musica Angelica CA$588,818 Executive Director $110,000 $112,910 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 2025 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 default27th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)27th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted27th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted27th

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 (Urs Leonhardt Steiner) 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 10, 2026, comparing compensation against 22 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A60) + CA + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $35,730 is reasonable (approximately the 27th 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 10, 2026.