Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

National Conservatory Of Dramatic Arts

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 522069008
DC · NTEE A250
FY ending 2024-08-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Ray Ficca, Executive Director / CEO ($34,706) 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 29th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Ray Ficca — reported title “President”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO 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

$175 total compensation of comparable organizations → $240,074 $34,706
$10,72410th
$31,08025th
$57,754Median
$82,13975th
$99,24090th
$34,706This org · 29th
p10$10,724
p25$31,080
p50$57,754
p75$82,139
p90$99,240
$34,706

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
Actors Garage NY$308,152 Trustee $152,016 $156,537 2024
Santa Theresa Tileworks (Imago Dei AZ$307,319 President $29,858 $32,723 2024
Nomadstudio Inc FL$307,266 Executive Director $48,083 $51,474 2024
Milton Art Center Inc MA$309,748 Executive Director $95,220 $100,389 2023
Overflow Fine Arts Inc FL$310,576 President $19,036 $20,379 2024
Childrens Arts Guild NY$310,730 Founding President And Ceo $100,000 $106,016 2023
Bocon Inc CA$305,928 Executive Dir. $83,499 $82,164 2024
Art Explorers Inc CA$305,597 Co Director $59,405 $58,455 2024
Oregon Arts Watch OR$304,412 Executive Director $24,000 $24,743 2025
Able - Artists Breaking Limits & IL$315,868 Executive Dir. $56,050 $62,794 2024
Summertime Gallery Inc NY$300,481 Gallery Director $51,154 $54,231 2023
Access Art FL$317,475 Director $13,000 $13,917 2024
Harmony Project Phoenix AZ$320,409 Secretary/ex $90,000 $101,548 2023
Friends Of Mcgroarty Cultural Arts Cntr CA$296,370 Executive Dir. $34,005 $32,598 2025
Rochester Construction Training NY$321,061 Executive Di $88,825 $89,109 2025
1111 A Creative Collective CA$321,147 President $38,875 $39,383 2023
Aspireconservatory Of Fine & Performing Arts Inc KY$295,157 Treasurer $47,709 $60,136 2023
Gulf Beach Art Center FL$321,701 Administrator $32,200 $34,471 2024
Cape Ann Art Haven Inc MA$294,868 Executive Director/treasurer $60,000 $63,256 2023
Embracing Our Differences MI$294,840 Secretary $25,440 $30,806 2023
Palm Springs Modern Committee CA$322,975 Exec Director $85,000 $81,485 2025
Community Center For The Arts IL$293,638 President, Executive Director $25,016 $28,026 2024
Little Eagle Arts Foundation WI$293,631 Executive Director $32,280 $38,417 2024
Northeast Iowa School Of Music IA$292,244 Board Member $144 $175 2025
Union Hall CO$292,190 Executive Di $52,832 $57,730 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 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 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 default29th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)34th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted30th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted27th

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 (Ray Ficca) 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 $34,706 is reasonable (approximately the 29th 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.