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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Kansas Sampler Foundation Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 481114956
KS · NTEE A200
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Marci Penner, Executive Director / CEO ($100,202) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 72 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 97th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Marci Penner — reported title “CO-DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

72 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 72 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$836 total compensation of comparable organizations → $257,628 $100,202
$5,01910th
$11,71825th
$28,944Median
$45,49875th
$59,33490th
$100,202This org · 97th
p10$5,019
p25$11,718
p50$28,944
p75$45,498
p90$59,334
$100,202

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 KS 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
Culture Mill Inc NC$130,625 Director $46,866 $42,416 2025
Hola Cultura DC$131,035 Executive Director And Director $55,900 $45,406 2023
Speedwell Projects ME$131,474 Managing Director $33,246 $29,931 2024
Wildstar Academy OR$128,981 Executive Director $6,000 $5,010 2024
Francis Hardy Center For The Arts WI$127,870 Executive Director $50,000 $46,949 2024
Lee County Arts & Community Center NC$134,854 Executive Di $30,897 $29,551 2023
Life On Art CA$125,745 Executive Director (Start 7/2024) $76,154 $59,123 2024
500 Sails MP$125,662 Executive Dir. $61,475 $59,711 2024
Chsee Inc NY$123,771 Treasurer $4,760 $3,867 2024
12 Dunemere Inc NY$138,477 Executive Director $17,651 $14,341 2024
Design Sacramento CA$140,644 Executive Director $24,900 $19,332 2024
Krewe Of Seaman Inc LA$143,094 President $73,500 $72,765 2024
Betti Ono Foundation CA$143,415 Ceo/presiden $193,948 $155,021 2023
Collaborative Institute Of Cultural Arts IL$144,152 Director $9,520 $8,663 2023
Theater Resources Unlimited Inc NY$144,204 Executive Direc, President $24,150 $20,200 2023
Island Community House Inc VA$144,658 Executive Director $65,960 $58,951 2023
Granary Art Center UT$146,593 Executive Director $60,000 $53,788 2025
Chicago Fashion Development IL$114,325 Executive Director $40,000 $36,400 2023
District One Community Education PA$148,914 Executive Di $35,000 $30,572 2025
Japan House La Foundation CA$111,910 Ceo $6,000 $4,658 2024
Bruce Lee Foundation Inc CA$149,396 Executive Director $100,248 $80,127 2023
Belton Center For The Arts SC$111,131 Executive Director $35,077 $32,901 2024
The Arts Project Inc MD$110,552 Executive Director $24,559 $20,643 2024
Committee For A Better New Orleans LA$107,720 Executive Director $80,000 $79,201 2024
Lightbox Film Center PA$153,749 Board Director $21,000 $18,829 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to KS 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 KS 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 default97th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)96th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted97th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted94th

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 (Marci Penner) 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 72 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $100,202 is reasonable (approximately the 97th 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.