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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Washington Project For The Arts Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 521974695
DC · NTEE A510
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Alexandra Silverthorne, Executive Director / CEO ($52,404) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 51 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: Alexandra Silverthorne — reported title “INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIR (THRU APRIL)”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

51 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 51 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$4 total compensation of comparable organizations → $186,044 $52,404
$14,07710th
$64,30925th
$77,472Median
$96,32375th
$108,59790th
$52,404This org · 16th
p10$14,077
p25$64,309
p50$77,472
p75$96,323
p90$108,597
$52,404

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 DC 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
Visual Art Exchange NC$490,255 Executive Director $65,795 $77,472 2023
Quincy Art Center IL$484,086 Executive Director $64,913 $68,816 2025
Coos Art Museum OR$484,043 Executive Director $67,333 $69,211 2024
4 Elements Studio Inc NY$483,049 Executive Director $62,000 $62,012 2024
Lowell Art Association MA$475,992 President $106,923 $106,351 2024
Coleman Center Board Of The City Of York AL$504,812 Executive Director $65,000 $77,726 2024
Headley-whitney Museum Inc KY$507,659 Executive Dir. $68,462 $81,414 2024
Museum Of Neon Art CA$508,173 Executive Direc $64,625 $63,592 2023
Arnot Art Museum NY$460,339 Trustee $4 $4 2023
Torrance Cultural Arts Center CA$457,647 Executive Director $101,435 $96,950 2024
Steamboat Art Museum CO$524,298 Executive Dir. $97,683 $103,676 2024
Owensboro Museum Of Fine Art Inc KY$525,604 President/director $81,036 $96,367 2024
Richmond Art Museum IN$528,388 Executive Director $117,660 $137,339 2024
Dashboard Co-op Inc GA$547,865 Executive Di $78,883 $90,385 2023
The Book Club Of California CA$548,575 Executive Di $194,650 $186,044 2024
Greenville Museum Of Art Inc NC$551,806 Executive Di $61,800 $68,858 2025
Lagrange Art Museum Inc GA$422,931 Executive Di $65,473 $72,868 2024
Mcrd Museum Historical Society CA$558,565 Executive Dir. $110,000 $105,136 2024
Art Museum Of Greater IN$565,307 Executive Di $42,615 $51,212 2023
Holter Museum Of Art MT$569,414 Executive Dir. $5,385 $6,615 2023
Doral Contemporary Art Museum Inc FL$398,641 President $2,000 $2,080 2024
Concrete Couch CO$396,632 Executive Director $60,000 $65,562 2023
Nicolaysen Art Museum WY$579,770 Executive Director $65,154 $77,224 2024
North Carolina Pottery Museum Inc NC$394,862 Executive Director $68,195 $75,983 2025
Santa Paula Art Museum CA$394,622 Executive Di $99,274 $94,885 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to DC 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 DC 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)18th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted18th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted14th

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 (Alexandra Silverthorne) 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 51 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A51), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $52,404 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.