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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Arlington Artists Alliance

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 542043690
VA · NTEE A51
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Christina Papnicolauo, Executive Director / CEO ($61,352) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 27 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 59th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Christina Papnicolauo — reported title “EXEC DIR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

27 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 27 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,919 total compensation of comparable organizations → $115,142 $61,352
$9,10210th
$30,63325th
$54,704Median
$73,52275th
$85,17990th
$61,352This org · 59th
p10$9,102
p25$30,633
p50$54,704
p75$73,522
p90$85,179
$61,352

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
Soo Visual Arts Center Inc MN$249,179 Executive Director $69,549 $73,277 2023
Caroline County Council Of Arts Inc MD$261,426 Former Executive Director $47,975 $46,453 2024
Grants Pass Museum Of Art OR$263,233 Executive Director $43,000 $41,357 2024
George & Leah Mckenna Museum Of African American Art LA$236,523 Office Manager $66,950 $76,352 2024
Monroe-walton Center For The Arts Inc GA$235,995 Executive Dir. $44,294 $46,126 2024
Ridgefield Guild Of Artists CT$233,111 Executive Director $29,800 $28,938 2024
Sculpture Trails Inc IN$230,668 Treasurer $3,504 $3,827 2024
Robert & Ellen Haan Museum Of IN$276,084 Administrati $28,138 $31,640 2023
Cedarburg Art Museum & Society Inc WI$280,277 Executive Director $68,199 $73,766 2024
Liberty Arts Inc NC$281,926 Executive Di $5,250 $5,618 2024
Journeys In Education Inc NH$293,577 Executive Director $34,692 $33,176 2024
Trustees Of The Tw Wood Gallery VT$294,965 Executive Director $65,769 $68,560 2024
Hmong Museum Of Minnesota MN$211,158 Executive Director $29,714 $29,625 2025
Cue Art Foundation NY$297,378 Executive Direc $121,244 $113,469 2024
Key West Art Center Inc FL$201,246 2nd Vice Pre $3,000 $2,919 2024
International Art Museum Of America CA$311,017 Director $12,408 $11,424 2023
Rourke Art Gallery Museum MN$194,018 Executive Director $50,000 $52,680 2023
Randolph County Community Arts Council WV$183,754 Executive Director $51,156 $55,886 2025
Bellefonte Art Museum For Centre County PA$182,079 Director $58,000 $59,904 2024
Wharton Esherick Museum PA$330,251 Executive Director $111,483 $115,142 2024
Bozeman Art Museum MT$332,259 Executive Director $49,000 $54,704 2024
Mitte Cultural District TX$332,344 Executive Dir. $75,000 $79,995 2023
Offcenter Community Arts Project NM$348,177 Executive Director $62,423 $71,589 2023
Waterworks Visual Arts Center Inc NC$348,857 Executive Di $76,743 $82,126 2024
Dixie Center For The Arts Inc LA$350,701 Executive Director $78,706 $89,759 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 default59th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)59th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted63rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted59th

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 (Christina Papnicolauo) 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 27 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A51), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $61,352 is reasonable (approximately the 59th 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.