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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Williams Project

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 473954408
WA · NTEE A65
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Ryan Purcell, Executive Director / CEO ($41,350) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 285 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 55th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Ryan Purcell — reported title “President”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

285 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 285 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$752 total compensation of comparable organizations → $143,389 $41,350
$6,19410th
$17,74425th
$38,178Median
$56,87175th
$69,78990th
$41,350This org · 55th
p10$6,194
p25$17,744
p50$38,178
p75$56,871
p90$69,789
$41,350

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
Music Theatre West UT$266,101 Managing Director $9,000 $9,735 2025
Downriver Youth Performing Arts Center MI$266,493 Director/programming $11,649 $13,045 2024
Barrier-free Inc MD$265,191 Executive Director $55,730 $56,525 2024
Franklin Stock Company NY$266,791 Ex-officio/ad $50,000 $50,465 2023
Green Bay Community Theater Inc WI$266,954 President $800 $883 2025
Laboratory Theater Of Florida Inc FL$264,743 President $17,472 $19,084 2022
Interact Story Theatre Education MD$264,476 Executive/artis $41,908 $42,506 2024
Spokane Childrens Theatre Inc WA$263,896 Director $68,449 $64,771 2025
Friends Of The Penn Inc MI$267,965 Executive Director $33,075 $38,131 2023
4 Community Theatre MN$268,606 Executive Artistic Director $14,200 $15,223 2024
Outcry Theatre Inc TX$268,753 Artistic Dir $37,440 $40,631 2024
Pandora Productions Inc KY$262,918 Artistic Direct $23,208 $26,353 2025
Chinese Theatre Works Inc NY$262,698 Exec Director $32,650 $32,008 2024
Mohawk Valley Center For The Arts Inc NY$269,570 Executive Director $48,567 $46,385 2025
Noor Theatre Inc NY$262,003 Treasurer/secretary/executive Director $12,500 $12,254 2024
The Roots And Wings Project CA$270,111 President $20,000 $18,736 2024
Elkhart Civic Theatre Inc IN$260,244 Executive Di $49,621 $55,307 2025
Latinus Theater Experience Company OH$259,988 Executive Artistic Director/ Actress/producer $42,000 $48,261 2024
Stevie Rays Theatre Company MN$272,086 Executive Director $72,080 $77,269 2024
Pushpush Arts Company GA$259,645 Co Director $5,849 $6,380 2024
Stageworks On The Hudson Inc NY$272,369 Exec. Artist $32,417 $32,718 2023
Kitchen Dog Theater TX$272,394 Managing Director $47,500 $53,071 2023
River West Theatre Inc IN$273,633 Producing Di $27,692 $31,682 2024
National Queer Theater NY$273,780 Director $39,748 $40,117 2023
Lower Bottom Playaz Inc CA$273,901 Executive Director $111,275 $107,322 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WA 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 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 default55th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)59th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted57th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted55th

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 (Ryan Purcell) 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 285 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A65), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $41,350 is reasonable (approximately the 55th 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.