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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Bayou Regional Arts Council

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 474553554
LA · NTEE A26
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Eugenia Ardoin, Executive Director / CEO ($62,615) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 62 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 73rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Eugenia Ardoin — reported title “EXEC DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

62 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 62 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$461 total compensation of comparable organizations → $143,274 $62,615
$14,63310th
$35,80225th
$47,585Median
$64,13775th
$76,20790th
$62,615This org · 73rd
p10$14,633
p25$35,802
p50$47,585
p75$64,137
p90$76,207
$62,615

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 LA 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
Humboldt Arts Council Inc CA$316,093 Executive Director $71,267 $55,887 2024
West Valley Arts Council AZ$315,816 Executive Di $70,000 $62,944 2023
Milwaukee Artist Resource Network WI$315,569 Executive Director $16,077 $15,248 2024
The Branson Arts Council Inc MO$308,013 Executive Director $11,250 $10,821 2024
Greenwich Arts Council Inc CT$328,339 Executive Di $115,000 $95,398 2025
Cultureworks MI$298,348 Executive Di $61,257 $55,940 2025
Queen Anne's County Arts Council MD$297,108 Executive Director $71,726 $60,898 2024
Iredell Arts Council Inc NC$336,389 Executive Di $36,607 $34,351 2024
Golden Isles Arts & Humanities GA$293,185 Executive Dir. $42,508 $38,815 2024
Kodiak Baranof Productions Inc AK$343,839 Exec Director $53,158 $46,154 2024
Craftnow Philadelphia PA$345,464 Executive Director $90,913 $82,335 2024
Vox Populi Inc PA$345,512 Executive Di $59,367 $55,354 2023
Holland Area Arts Council MI$346,762 Secretary $15,538 $14,565 2024
Barn Arts Center For The Arts Company VT$283,488 Executive Director $69,010 $64,943 2023
Lexington County Arts Association SC$283,341 President $500 $461 2025
Greater Denton Arts Council Inc TX$351,567 Director $71,000 $66,404 2023
Arts Council Napa Valley CA$278,573 Ceo/president $97,200 $76,223 2024
Eastern Oregon Regional Arts Council OR$354,565 Executive Director $42,444 $35,796 2024
Tioga County Council On The Arts Inc NY$276,999 Executive Dir. $41,892 $34,378 2024
Arts Council Of South Wood County WI$275,457 Executive Director $50,000 $46,200 2025
Bossier Arts Council LA$357,335 Executive Di $34,833 $35,862 2023
The Stelae Inc FL$272,281 Vice Preside $1,599 $1,364 2024
The Crossing Arts Alliance MN$271,075 Executive Director $55,000 $49,355 2024
Arts Council Of Mendocino County CA$266,842 Executive Direc $68,330 $55,166 2023
Dona Ana Arts Council NM$266,004 Executive Director $33,346 $33,533 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to LA 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 LA 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 default73rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)65th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted73rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted73rd

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 (Eugenia Ardoin) 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 62 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A26), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $62,615 is reasonable (approximately the 73rd 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.