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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Studio 1

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 471817737
NC · NTEE A60
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Tamra Kress, Executive Director / CEO ($60,100) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 150 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 74th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Tamra Kress — reported title “Executive Dir.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

150 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 150 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $123,118 $60,100
$12,13710th
$24,89825th
$46,352Median
$60,97675th
$81,71590th
$60,100This org · 74th
p10$12,137
p25$24,898
p50$46,352
p75$60,976
p90$81,715
$60,100

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 NC 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
Shakespeare At A Nj Nonprofit Corporatio NJ$355,121 Artistic Director $18,958 $16,382 2024
Amazing Things Arts Center Inc MA$357,744 Executive Director $67,234 $58,472 2024
Holy City Arts & Lyric Opera SC$357,749 General Dire $34,490 $34,823 2024
Sc New Play Festival Inc SC$354,165 Executive Artistic Director $30,000 $29,509 2025
Alive & Kickin MN$360,111 Executive Director $64,500 $63,503 2023
Impact Arts Inc TX$350,870 Chief Operating Officer $17,500 $17,442 2023
Cleveland Arts Prize OH$350,187 Executive Di $43,896 $44,996 2024
Strike Anywhere Inc NY$362,504 Artistic Dir. $52,498 $45,911 2024
American Theater Group NJ$362,732 Artistic Dir $60,000 $51,846 2024
Ladies Of Hip-hop Festival NJ$363,054 Executive Director $13,700 $12,188 2023
Little Globe Inc NM$348,773 Co-director $50,250 $53,851 2023
Lovegood Performing Arts Company OR$363,379 President $12,160 $11,252 2023
Arcadia Performing Arts Inc PA$348,016 Executive Director $39,800 $38,412 2024
Aloha Performing Arts Company HI$347,681 Past Preside $77,666 $69,284 2023
Thomasville Entertainment GA$365,778 Executive Dir. $35,700 $33,845 2025
The Stars Of Tomorrow Project Inc NY$344,741 Director $69,000 $60,343 2024
Chelsea Music Festival Corporation NY$344,365 Director $10,000 $8,745 2024
Sunfest Of Palm Beach County Inc FL$368,350 Executive Director $117,990 $104,509 2025
Bembe Drum & Dance Inc WI$369,420 Int. Exec. D $28,323 $28,627 2024
Newport Opera House Association NH$340,825 Executive Director $53,500 $47,810 2024
Shine On Performing Arts TX$371,248 President Of Board & Executive Artistic Director $40,019 $38,743 2024
Blue Water Theatre Company MN$340,562 Managing Director $55,000 $52,597 2024
Teatro Experimental Yerbabruja Inc NY$371,539 Executive Director $100,000 $87,454 2024
Authentic Community Theatre Inc MD$339,283 President $33,950 $31,626 2023
Prescott Circus Theatre CA$374,696 Executive Dir. $60,738 $50,759 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NC 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 NC 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 default74th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)65th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted74th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted73rd

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 (Tamra Kress) 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 150 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $60,100 is reasonable (approximately the 74th 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.