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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Maryland Cultural And Conference Center

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 542108437
MD · NTEE A20
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Mattie Fenton, Executive Director / CEO ($6,920) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 53 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 36th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Mattie Fenton — reported title “Executive Director, board”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

53 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 53 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$193 total compensation of comparable organizations → $337,577 $6,920
$1,30110th
$4,93425th
$14,430Median
$47,93375th
$80,10390th
$6,920This org · 36th
p10$1,301
p25$4,934
p50$14,430
p75$47,933
p90$80,103
$6,920

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
The Time In Childrens Arts Initiative Inc NY$24,497 Secretaryexec Director $33,575 $31,521 2024
Foundation For The Long Beach Symphony CA$24,839 Vice President Of Finance $11,531 $10,650 2023
Duquesne Club Charitable Foundation PA$24,842 Secretary $5,585 $5,637 2025
The Confectionery Foundation DC$24,900 Nca Staff $31,807 $28,998 2024
Twoculturesunited Inc CA$25,000 President $3,650 $3,371 2023
Whitney Plantation Museum LA$23,809 Executive Director $12,252 $14,430 2023
The City Of Socorro Community Initiative TX$23,642 Executive Director $69,894 $74,784 2023
Us-china Language & Culturefoundation CA$23,580 President $580 $520 2024
The Mcghee Foundation VA$25,512 Secytreas $81,000 $81,254 2024
Claude Heater Foundation CA$23,205 Ceodirector $70,000 $64,654 2023
Sfte Inc NM$22,897 Presidentdirector $13,670 $15,276 2024
Automata Arts CA$26,116 Vice-presiden $3,272 $2,860 2025
Wayne County Historical Society IL$22,599 Director / Curator $4,830 $4,933 2024
The Buddhayana Foundation Inc MA$22,435 Treasurer $24,000 $22,406 2024
Janusz Korczak Polish Language RI$26,608 President $1,880 $1,873 2024
Enrichment Through The Arts Inc NY$26,646 Executive Director $5,000 $4,833 2023
Strategic Air & Space Museum Foundation NE$22,156 President/ceo $13,500 $15,531 2023
Carmel Mission Foundation Inc CA$22,133 Executive Dir. $56,623 $52,298 2023
Contact Collaborations Inc VT$22,079 President $12,250 $13,188 2023
Brooklyn Seltzer Museum Inc NY$27,011 Trustee $1,000 $939 2024
Theatre Bam IL$27,385 President $10,477 $11,017 2023
Transcultural Exchange MA$27,464 Executive Director And President $33,000 $30,809 2024
The New York City Police Museum NY$21,135 Executive D $21,540 $20,222 2024
Stephen J Ponzillo Jr Memorial Library MD$20,728 Grand Secretary $9,099 $9,099 2023
Nebrada Foundation Inc FL$28,341 President $36,697 $35,816 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 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 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 default36th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)34th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted53rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted32nd

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 (Mattie Fenton) 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 53 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (A), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $6,920 is reasonable (approximately the 36th 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.