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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 541882091
VA · NTEE A6C
FY ending 2024-08-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dr Peter Wilson, Executive Director / CEO ($23,846) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 40 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 30th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Dr Peter Wilson — reported title “MUSIC DIRECT”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

40 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 40 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$894 total compensation of comparable organizations → $165,761 $23,846
$4,55610th
$14,93925th
$42,523Median
$67,29475th
$90,01490th
$23,846This org · 30th
p10$4,556
p25$14,939
p50$42,523
p75$67,294
p90$90,014
$23,846

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 VA 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
The Louisville Leopard Percussionists KY$313,220 Founder, Director $22,500 $24,391 2025
Byron Schenkman & Friends WA$312,706 Executive Dir. $38,676 $35,863 2024
The Vigil Project Inc LA$327,253 Director $71,854 $81,944 2024
Groove Inc SD$328,225 Executive Director $43,500 $49,721 2024
Israeli Chamber Project Inc NY$332,660 Vice President $80,025 $74,893 2024
The Queer Big Apple Corps Inc NY$300,245 Executive Director $101,621 $97,914 2023
We Always Swing Inc MO$335,970 Exec. Director $70,200 $79,281 2023
North Texas Colorguard Association TX$296,239 President $5,000 $5,180 2024
Piedmont Wind Symphony NC$346,466 Executive Di $40,520 $42,245 2025
Delirium Musicum CA$289,286 President $63,410 $56,709 2024
Milwaukee Jazz Institute Inc WI$288,509 Executive Dir. $60,000 $64,898 2024
Cleveland Jazz Orchestra OH$351,397 Executive Di $55,000 $60,332 2024
Akropolis Quintet Inc MI$358,605 Executive Di $52,000 $55,588 2024
Allentown Band Inc PA$275,036 Director $12,423 $12,831 2024
Sun Valley Jazz Jamboree WA$271,187 President $28,100 $26,056 2024
City Sound Drum And Bugle Corps CA$265,067 Treasurer $1,000 $894 2024
Chicas Rockeras South East Los Angeles CA$264,873 Director $3,525 $3,245 2023
Ascend Performing Arts Inc CO$264,856 Ceo $75,000 $74,482 2024
Radiance Ministries TX$262,904 Director $160,000 $165,761 2024
The Raleigh Ringers Inc NC$262,339 Music Direct $34,095 $37,564 2023
Boxley Music Fund WA$256,240 Chairman $8,000 $7,418 2024
Jazz Angel Inc CA$252,644 Executive Dir. $101,471 $90,747 2024
Musical Instruments N Kids Hands CA$385,911 President $17,490 $15,642 2024
Capital City Percussion OH$248,755 President $4,950 $5,430 2024
Delgani String Quartet OR$247,107 Executive Director $39,600 $38,087 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VA 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 VA 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 default30th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)33rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted30th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted30th

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 (Dr Peter Wilson) 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 40 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A6C), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $23,846 is reasonable (approximately the 30th 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.