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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Ez Kids Creativity Shell

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 475253811
TX · NTEE A25
FY ending 2024-05-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Mara Tirado, Executive Director / CEO ($45,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 158 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 42nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Mara Tirado — reported title “FACILITIES DIR”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

158 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 158 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$153 total compensation of comparable organizations → $210,606 $45,000
$11,07910th
$29,00725th
$52,007Median
$72,19975th
$87,05990th
$45,000This org · 42nd
p10$11,079
p25$29,007
p50$52,007
p75$72,199
p90$87,059
$45,000

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 TX 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
Outerarts Maryland Inc MD$325,261 Executive Di $65,000 $60,750 2024
Signal Return Inc MI$327,321 Artistic Director $72,422 $74,728 2024
Sleepy Hollow Theatre & Arts Park ND$324,690 President $28,000 $31,625 2023
Arts In Reach-encouraging Growth NH$328,246 Executive Di $39,437 $36,403 2024
Palm Springs Modern Committee CA$322,975 Exec Director $85,000 $71,483 2025
Arts In Schools Collaborative PA$329,237 President $13,842 $14,207 2023
Gulf Beach Art Center FL$321,701 Administrator $32,200 $30,240 2024
Celebration Barn Theater ME$330,876 Executive Artistic Director $62,000 $63,897 2023
1111 A Creative Collective CA$321,147 President $38,875 $34,549 2023
Rochester Construction Training NY$321,061 Executive Di $88,825 $78,171 2025
Harmony Project Phoenix AZ$320,409 Secretary/ex $90,000 $89,084 2023
Access Art FL$317,475 Director $13,000 $12,209 2024
Lovewell Institute For The Creative Arts Inc FL$336,134 Employee $63,000 $60,913 2023
Able - Artists Breaking Limits & IL$315,868 Executive Dir. $56,050 $55,087 2024
Inclusive Arts Vermont Inc VT$337,905 Executive Di $74,200 $72,736 2025
Salt Lake Music School Foundation UT$339,397 Executive D $4,089 $4,184 2024
Nw Film Camp CA$340,757 President $9,562 $8,254 2024
Hogfish Maine ME$340,928 Executive Director $3,570 $3,574 2024
Childrens Arts Guild NY$310,730 Founding President And Ceo $100,000 $93,003 2023
Overflow Fine Arts Inc FL$310,576 President $19,036 $17,877 2024
Milton Art Center Inc MA$309,748 Executive Director $95,220 $88,067 2023
National Conservatory Of Dramatic Arts DC$308,410 President $34,706 $30,446 2024
Actors Garage NY$308,152 Trustee $152,016 $137,323 2024
Coupeville Arts Center WA$344,715 Executive Director $55,170 $50,838 2023
Santa Theresa Tileworks (Imago Dei AZ$307,319 President $29,858 $28,706 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TX 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 TX 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 default42nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)41st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted43rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted40th

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 (Mara Tirado) 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 158 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A25), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $45,000 is reasonable (approximately the 42nd 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.