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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Emerge Cda Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 473622413
ID · NTEE A20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jennifer Hegsted, Executive Director / CEO ($41,358) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 321 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 49th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Jennifer Hegsted — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

321 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 321 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$265 total compensation of comparable organizations → $142,281 $41,358
$8,11510th
$23,16325th
$41,785Median
$60,17175th
$73,73290th
$41,358This org · 49th
p10$8,115
p25$23,163
p50$41,785
p75$60,171
p90$73,732
$41,358

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 ID 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
Kc Fringe Festival Inc MO$291,863 Executive Director $50,014 $49,796 2024
Hispanic Connection Of Southern Indiana Inc IN$290,832 President $42,016 $41,651 2024
Newaygo County Council For The Arts Inc MI$293,520 Executive Director $45,497 $44,145 2024
Western Ny Book Arts Collaborative Inc NY$289,491 Executive Dir. $53,000 $46,350 2023
Studio Ace CA$289,356 Director $50,000 $41,785 2023
Berwin Art Education Center NJ$288,494 President $63,000 $54,438 2023
Brazilian Cultural Arts Center Of Santa Barbara CA$288,472 Presidentceo $34,500 $28,832 2023
Ballet Of York County SC$295,261 Artistic /Studio Director $52,738 $51,719 2024
Center For International Performance & Exhibition IL$295,759 Executive Director $27,202 $25,139 2024
Imagination Fort Worth TX$287,534 Executive Director $68,735 $66,542 2023
Funoon NY$295,886 Executive Director $75,556 $66,076 2023
Sones De Mexico Ensemble IL$296,215 Executive Dir. $40,000 $38,058 2023
Arts Empowerment Project Inc NC$286,962 Ceo $50,000 $50,000 2023
Venture Lititz Inc PA$296,445 Executive Director $65,531 $61,431 2024
Suntan Art Center Inc FL$286,604 Co-director $20,254 $17,886 2024
Mccoy Rigby Arts Inc CA$286,386 President $14,280 $11,934 2023
Makeshift WA$286,163 Executive Director $20,825 $17,527 2024
Springfield Contemporary Theatre Inc MO$297,882 President $6,000 $5,820 2025
International Network Of Creatives FL$285,495 President/di $115,962 $102,405 2024
Saline County Ag Society Inc NE$297,926 President $3,125 $3,160 2024
Le Mondo MD$285,096 Executive Director $59,808 $54,115 2023
Wombwork Productions Inc MD$285,003 Executive Dir. $40,455 $35,554 2024
The Bridge Pai VA$299,056 Chief Execut $58,731 $53,307 2024
Outspokane WA$284,055 Executive Director $70,000 $58,913 2024
Bee Cave Arts Foundation TX$283,079 Board President $340 $329 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to ID 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 ID 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 default49th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)41st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted50th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted47th

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 (Jennifer Hegsted) 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 321 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $41,358 is reasonable (approximately the 49th 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.