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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Columbia Festival Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 521599803
MD · NTEE A200
FY ending 2024-07-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Kiera Gillock, Executive Director / CEO ($60,394) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 295 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 44th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Kiera Gillock — reported title “MANAGING DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

295 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 295 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$301 total compensation of comparable organizations → $246,001 $60,394
$16,30810th
$38,92125th
$65,547Median
$85,53475th
$102,72790th
$60,394This org · 44th
p10$16,308
p25$38,921
p50$65,547
p75$85,534
p90$102,727
$60,394

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 MD 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
Luminaria TX$478,477 Executive Dir. $73,172 $80,603 2023
Good Shepherd Radio Inc IN$478,421 President $79,156 $91,924 2023
Montez Press Arts Inc NY$479,513 Ex-officio Board Mem $75,532 $73,005 2024
Colab Arts Inc NJ$476,703 Producing Di $59,615 $55,465 2025
Hudson River Music Hall Productions Inc NY$483,329 Managing Director $60,000 $57,993 2024
Unity Earth Inc NY$473,855 Treasurer & C.f.o. $33,750 $33,584 2023
Media Art Xploration Inc NY$484,096 Director $52,000 $51,745 2023
Push Dance Company CA$472,448 Ceo $56,996 $52,643 2024
Southington Community CT$471,460 Executive Di $68,600 $68,798 2024
Hagood Mill Foundation SC$488,532 Executive Di $62,400 $69,631 2024
Professional Numismatists Guild Inc CA$468,503 Executive Director $83,948 $77,536 2024
Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance Inc NY$468,488 Executive Director $84,423 $84,009 2023
Hyde Park Jazz Festival IL$490,212 Executive Director $70,000 $73,610 2024
Sweet Pea A Festival Of The Arts MT$466,716 Executive Dir. $65,385 $75,388 2024
Global Social Services OH$491,353 Chairman Of The Board $3,150 $3,569 2024
Friends Of The Big Fresno Fair CA$465,674 Ceo $27,194 $24,470 2025
Long X Arts Foundation ND$465,178 Executive Director $66,000 $77,472 2024
Tulsa Glass Blowing Studio Inc OK$492,597 Executive Director $75,459 $88,876 2024
Florida Litfest Inc FL$464,718 Executive Di $32,917 $33,076 2024
Odunde Inc PA$493,610 Executive Dir. $85,000 $90,667 2024
Tidewater Arts Outreach VA$463,432 Executive Di $62,199 $62,582 2025
Marshall County Arts And Culture Allianc IA$462,713 Executive Director $85,000 $99,550 2024
World Around Inc NY$461,660 Executive Director $120,000 $119,411 2023
Bluebird Cultural Initiative NE$495,819 Executive Dir. $60,000 $69,027 2024
Parent Child Relationship Association Inc NY$459,625 Executive Director $57,487 $55,564 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MD 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 MD 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 default44th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)44th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted43rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted42nd

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 (Kiera Gillock) 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 295 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $60,394 is reasonable (approximately the 44th 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.