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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Nashville Ballet Foundation

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 474340559
TN · NTEE A11
FY ending 2024-05-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Nick Mullikin, Executive Director / CEO ($4,054) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 19 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 16th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Nick Mullikin — reported title “ARTISTIC DIRECTOR/CEO”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

19 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 19 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$377 total compensation of comparable organizations → $424,082 $4,054
$3,38110th
$7,75225th
$12,461Median
$25,69575th
$65,92890th
$4,054This org · 16th
p10$3,381
p25$7,752
p50$12,461
p75$25,695
p90$65,928
$4,054

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 TN 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
Waynesboro Community Theatre Project Inc PA$109,329 Director $29,879 $28,347 2024
Trent House Association Inc NJ$111,226 Interim Executive Director $6,000 $5,247 2023
Smh Support Corporation NY$104,003 Chairperson $77,265 $68,384 2023
Barnsdall Arts CA$113,634 Executive Dir. $21,800 $17,447 2025
The Children's Center For Science & OH$96,659 Executive Director - Non-voting $374 $377 2024
Cca North Corporation NH$126,000 Vice-president $11,414 $10,027 2024
Ihsaa Achieve Foundation IA$127,905 Executive Director $56,244 $58,588 2024
San Antonio Art League TX$129,113 Committee Chair $6,000 $5,562 2025
The Robert & Jane Meyerhoff Modern Art MD$87,004 Trustee $463,127 $424,082 2023
Sammons Center Endowment Corp TX$86,821 Executive Director $13,000 $12,371 2024
Friends Of The St Augustine Amphitheatre Inc FL$130,774 Director $2,000 $1,840 2023
Cmc Leverage Lender Inc CA$85,738 Executive Director $12,422 $9,942 2025
Friends Of The M MN$133,626 Director $12,670 $12,262 2023
Capitol City Lodge No 1147 Improved Benevevolent CA$135,068 President $4,584 $3,766 2024
Camp Aldersgate Foundation AR$136,118 Director $11,653 $12,461 2024
Wabe Foundation Inc GA$77,475 Ceo $23,398 $23,043 2023
Up2me Community Foundation Inc CA$152,827 Ceo $16,710 $13,727 2024
Barnes-deinzer Seneca County OH$153,034 Executive Di $20,474 $21,240 2023
Hastings Museum Foundation Inc NE$153,425 Executive Di $62,000 $65,314 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TN 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 TN 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 default16th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)11th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted0th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted68th

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 (Nick Mullikin) 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 19 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A11), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $4,054 is reasonable (approximately the 16th 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.