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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Children's Educational Theatre Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 562546108
OR · NTEE A65
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Robert Salberg, Executive Director / CEO ($23,089) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 311 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: Robert Salberg — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

311 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 311 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$747 total compensation of comparable organizations → $142,324 $23,089
$6,97310th
$20,45025th
$40,000Median
$57,87875th
$72,71390th
$23,089This org · 30th
p10$6,973
p25$20,450
p50$40,000
p75$57,878
p90$72,713
$23,089

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 OR 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
Chicago Dramatists IL$291,266 Artistic Direc. $33,065 $36,038 2023
Wichita Falls Backdoor Players Inc TX$290,648 Executive Director $45,510 $50,469 2023
Soul Rep Theatre Company TX$289,722 Producton $26,854 $28,181 2025
Improv Utopia CA$289,594 Presidentceo $50,417 $46,880 2024
Marblehead Little Theatre Inc MA$288,684 Secretary $3,800 $3,582 2025
Flying V Ltd MD$287,745 Executive Director $37,000 $38,349 2023
Inside Out Theatre Company Inc FL$287,632 Executive Director $65,004 $65,758 2024
Bond Street Theatre Coalition Ltd NY$295,067 Vice Preside $31,200 $30,359 2024
Paris Community Theater TX$295,327 President $4,700 $5,063 2024
Mineral Point Opera House Inc WI$295,976 Director $33,132 $37,260 2024
Yard Theater Inc CA$296,182 President $31,150 $29,820 2023
Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater MA$286,234 Director/curator $30,000 $29,030 2024
Murphys Creek Theater Conservatory CA$286,025 Vice President $65,000 $62,225 2023
Flashback Theater Co KY$285,896 Producing Ar $30,000 $33,813 2025
New York City Players Inc NY$296,648 President $2,875 $2,880 2023
Cactus Pear Music Festival TX$284,917 Executive Dir. $69,333 $74,683 2024
Asante Art Institute Of Indianapolis Inc IN$297,818 Director $25,000 $27,658 2025
Shakesperience Productions Inc CT$298,001 Executive Pr $21,000 $20,656 2025
Lumina Studio Theatre Inc MD$298,006 Co-executive Director $56,986 $57,370 2024
Mtvarts Inc OH$284,064 Artistic Dir $7,200 $8,212 2024
Hawaii Childrens Theatre HI$283,277 Secretary $4,000 $3,856 2024
Warehouse Theatre Company WA$299,704 Executive Director $14,997 $14,085 2025
The Harbor Stage Company Inc MA$281,765 President $11,508 $11,136 2024
Rising Star Theatre Company IA$281,633 Director/artistic And Education Director $39,000 $47,341 2023
Live Oak Theatre Company Inc FL$281,507 President $7,376 $7,682 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to OR 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 OR 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)30th
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 (Robert Salberg) 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 311 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A65), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $23,089 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.