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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Vanguard Theater Company

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 473543143
NJ · NTEE A65
FY ending 2023-09-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Janeece Freeman-clark, Executive Director / CEO ($12,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 329 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 12th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Janeece Freeman-clark — reported title “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

329 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 329 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$754 total compensation of comparable organizations → $143,786 $12,500
$11,14010th
$28,47025th
$50,514Median
$65,73475th
$81,73490th
$12,500This org · 12th
p10$11,140
p25$28,470
p50$50,514
p75$65,734
p90$81,734
$12,500

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 NJ 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
Ahwatukee Children's Theatre Inc AZ$392,334 Executive Director $68,645 $73,941 2023
Childrens Theatre Of Elgin & Fox Valley Theatre Company IL$392,287 Director Of Opertions $53,815 $57,556 2024
Saratoga Sponsor-a-scholar NY$391,840 Executive Director $35,000 $35,423 2023
Yorba Linda Spotlight Theater Company CA$391,469 Studio Manager $69,564 $65,348 2024
Chicago Tap Theatre Nfp IL$391,090 Artistic Director $37,000 $39,572 2024
Theatrezone Inc MA$389,362 Treas/clerk $88,451 $86,469 2024
Santa Monica Theatre Guild CA$397,778 Member $27,615 $25,942 2024
Rivendell Theatre Ensemble IL$398,180 Director $50,576 $54,092 2024
Sonoma Arts Live CA$387,782 President $3,325 $3,124 2024
North Platte Community Playhouse NE$398,815 Administrati $20,766 $25,016 2023
Cyrano's Theatre Company AK$387,508 Producing Artistic Director $48,000 $49,924 2024
Shaker Bridge Theatre Inc VT$400,360 Producing Artistic Director Ex Officio $48,750 $52,005 2025
Second Generation Theatre Company NY$400,401 Executive Di $10,000 $9,830 2024
Millbrook Playhouse Inc PA$386,051 Managing Director $32,810 $35,595 2024
Literature To Life Inc NY$385,828 Exe Dir $32,200 $30,838 2025
Theatre33 WA$402,026 Vice President $25,602 $25,673 2023
Lukaba Productions IL$402,338 Executive Director $75,000 $80,214 2024
Yellow Tree Theatre MN$403,540 Executive Artistic Director $66,128 $69,252 2025
Portland Drama Club OR$382,766 Executive Director & Board Chair $59,072 $59,679 2024
Skylight Theatre Company CA$405,316 Executive Director $85,000 $79,848 2024
Victory Gardens Theater IL$380,792 Managing Director $59,111 $65,088 2023
Beaver Dam Area Community Theatre Inc WI$380,164 Managing Director $60,000 $70,183 2023
The Justice Theater Project NC$380,151 Executive Producer $35,700 $40,130 2024
Haddonfield Plays And Players NJ$406,428 Managing Artistic Director $34,800 $33,802 2024
The Theatre Within Inc NY$379,723 President $34,400 $34,816 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NJ 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 NJ 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 default12th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)12th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted13th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted12th

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 (Janeece Freeman-clark) 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 329 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A65), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $12,500 is reasonable (approximately the 12th 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.