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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Shakespeare Association Of America

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 576057362
MS · NTEE A030
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Karen Raber, Executive Director / CEO ($35,724) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 15 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 7th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Karen Raber — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

15 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 15 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,163 total compensation of comparable organizations → $167,008 $35,724
$41,16110th
$66,19925th
$79,463Median
$93,25275th
$133,18290th
$35,724This org · 7th
p10$41,161
p25$66,199
p50$79,463
p75$93,252
p90$133,182
$35,724

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 MS 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
Glass Art Society Inc WA$452,347 Executive Director $102,473 $84,808 2023
Arizona Solar Energy Industries Assoc AZ$462,545 Executive Director $193,408 $167,008 2024
California Choral Directors Association CA$445,924 Director $1,500 $1,163 2024
Comedy Gives Back CA$474,720 President $50,000 $39,911 2023
Design Management Institute Inc MA$426,070 President $124,447 $100,409 2024
Faith Co-op Inc TN$491,232 Executive Director & President $86,157 $79,217 2025
Music And Culture Coalition Of New Orleans Nonprofit Corporation LA$503,323 Executive Director $80,373 $79,463 2024
Open Channels New York Inc NY$370,950 Secretary/treas $71,913 $58,346 2024
International Association For Dance CO$554,785 Executive Director $100,000 $86,095 2024
Connecticut High School Coaches CT$555,181 Executive Di $98,333 $80,648 2025
Association Of Professional Genealogists WA$338,756 Executive Director $52,000 $43,036 2023
Quincy Society Of Fine Arts IL$328,373 Executive Director $83,890 $74,051 2024
Museum Trustee Association MD$314,313 Ceo $165,000 $138,505 2024
New York City Arts-in-education NY$617,658 Executive Di $97,122 $78,799 2024
League Of Historic American MD$680,509 President & Ceo $144,867 $125,197 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MS 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 MS 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 default7th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)7th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted7th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted7th

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 (Karen Raber) 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 15 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A03), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $35,724 is reasonable (approximately the 7th 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.