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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Northwest Choir Resources

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 473427876
WA · NTEE A6B
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Stephanie Charbonneau, Executive Director / CEO ($120,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 51 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 100th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Stephanie Charbonneau — reported title “Secretary and Artistic Director”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

51 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 51 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,723 total compensation of comparable organizations → $90,000 $120,000
$17,05010th
$21,72125th
$41,490Median
$59,08975th
$69,73590th
$120,000This org · 100th
p10$17,050
p25$21,721
p50$41,490
p75$59,089
p90$69,735
$120,000

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 WA 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
Rogue World Music OR$213,377 Executive Director $46,000 $47,713 2024
Carolina Master Chorale Inc SC$210,799 Executive Director $17,005 $19,304 2025
Magnum Chorum MN$215,490 Executive Director $18,000 $20,453 2023
Pacific International Choral OR$209,346 Artistic/exe $21,000 $22,425 2023
The Lira Ensemble IL$216,384 Artistic Director Gm $4,000 $4,279 2025
Youth Chorus Of Kansas City Inc MO$217,944 Executive Officer $36,000 $41,490 2025
The Bach Chorale Singers Inc IN$206,377 Managing Dir $24,748 $30,011 2023
Bucks County Choral Society PA$219,753 Ex Officio $36,000 $40,098 2024
Classical Chorus Of Abilene TX$203,831 Executive Dir $43,116 $49,596 2023
Cantores In Ecclesia OR$200,876 Officer: Choir Music Director <1099-nec> $24,000 $24,894 2024
The Mississippi Mass Choir Ministries Inc MS$226,110 President $14,000 $17,416 2024
Orlando Gay Chorus Inc FL$199,468 Treasurer $6,500 $6,644 2025
Youth Chorale Of Central Minnesota MN$198,106 Executive Director $40,000 $44,146 2024
Kidsingers CA$196,337 Executive Dir. $67,275 $63,213 2025
Threshold Choir CA$231,258 Executive Dir. $69,949 $69,457 2023
Heartland Youth Choir IA$231,728 Former Artistic Director $31,790 $38,878 2024
Orpheus Male Chorus Of Phoenix AZ$232,072 Artistic Director Exofficio Board Member $49,873 $53,573 2024
Oberlin Choristers OH$186,552 Artist Director $22,167 $25,548 2025
Giving Voice Initiative MN$185,861 Executive Director $59,189 $67,254 2023
Chattanooga Boys Choir TN$243,379 Finance Director $42,292 $48,373 2025
Bach Cantata Choir OR$243,472 President & Artistic Director $5,000 $5,186 2024
Appleton Boychoir Inc WI$174,656 Artistic Director $17,500 $21,017 2023
Peninsula Cantare A California Nonprofit Benefit Corporation CA$257,317 Artistic Director $64,008 $61,734 2024
Baltimore Childrens Choir Inc MD$257,972 Artistic Director $16,818 $17,109 2025
James Toland Vocal Arts CA$261,470 Executive Dir. $45,000 $43,401 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WA 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 WA 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 default100th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)100th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted76th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted100th

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 (Stephanie Charbonneau) 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 51 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A6B), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $120,000 is reasonable (approximately the 100th 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.