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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Rhizome Dc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 473844095
DC · NTEE A20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Layne Garrett, Executive Director / CEO ($46,128) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 256 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 52nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Layne Garrett — reported title “Director, Trustee”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

256 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 256 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$388 total compensation of comparable organizations → $317,169 $46,128
$9,00110th
$24,03025th
$45,220Median
$64,26575th
$81,48190th
$46,128This org · 52nd
p10$9,001
p25$24,030
p50$45,220
p75$64,265
p90$81,481
$46,128

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 DC 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
Escuela Mayaguezana De Ballet PR$223,807 Incorporator $29,335 $29,335 2023
Black Violin Foundation Inc FL$223,842 President $19,500 $20,875 2023
Monarch Music & Arts Community KY$222,769 President $46,000 $54,702 2024
The Peoples Conservatory CA$224,549 Executive Director $43,732 $48,384 2021
Coronado Junior Arts League CA$224,657 Chair $40,000 $38,231 2024
Kenosha Common Markets Inc WI$224,761 Executive Dir. $60,000 $69,359 2024
Amiable Arts Foundation MS$222,009 Executive Director $132,000 $167,533 2023
Bunker Projects Inc PA$221,994 Executive Di $30,000 $33,114 2024
The Vanport Mosaic OR$220,712 Director $103,725 $106,619 2024
Helping Our People Evolve Incorporated NY$220,341 Executive Director $19,198 $19,202 2024
Angelica Center For Arts And Music CA$220,167 Program Directo $27,187 $25,985 2024
Jlf Colorado CO$227,467 Executive Dir. $28,296 $30,032 2024
Mivos Quartet Performing Arts Inc NY$227,496 Key Employee $24,938 $25,680 2023
Lyrical Opposition CA$219,086 Board Member $22,500 $22,140 2023
Voice Of The City IL$228,121 Vp Of Teachi $36,147 $38,321 2025
Atlantic Black Box ME$228,481 Executive Di $86,426 $95,790 2024
Parallel Studios Inc NM$228,761 Executive Di $27,720 $33,975 2023
Images A Festival Of The Arts Inc FL$228,794 Executive Director $2,019 $2,099 2024
Genryu Arts CA$217,841 President $54,000 $53,137 2023
Grow Mongolia Inc VA$217,657 President Ceo $68,500 $75,370 2023
Arte Institute Inc NY$229,498 President/treasurer $60,000 $60,012 2024
Urasenke Foundation Of California CA$216,878 Ceo / Dir $69,840 $66,752 2024
Kente Arts Alliance PA$230,244 President $24,000 $27,274 2023
Maine Jewish Film Festival ME$230,901 Executive Director $73,796 $79,684 2025
Merrill Arts Center MN$215,722 Executive Di $60,439 $66,103 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to DC 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 DC 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 default52nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)57th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted53rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted50th

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 (Layne Garrett) 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 256 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $46,128 is reasonable (approximately the 52nd 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.