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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Cookeville Children's Theatre

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 581504278
TN · NTEE B90
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jennifer Welch, Executive Director / CEO ($31,105) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 205 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 39th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Jennifer Welch — reported title “ARTISTIC DIRECTOR”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

205 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 205 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$490 total compensation of comparable organizations → $213,603 $31,105
$9,12910th
$19,21425th
$40,432Median
$62,15775th
$90,07690th
$31,105This org · 39th
p10$9,129
p25$19,214
p50$40,432
p75$62,157
p90$90,076
$31,105

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 TN 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
Michigan Interscholastic Press MI$161,452 Executive Director $8,100 $7,726 2024
Southwest Education Alliance Inc NC$160,825 Secretary $70,000 $65,113 2025
Family Biz Builder MS$160,005 Ceo $19,500 $20,069 2024
Cfrg Newco Inc NY$159,797 Executive Director $10,585 $8,838 2024
Milwaukee Women Inc WI$163,861 External Engagement $62,100 $61,700 2023
Integral Steps Inc CO$159,090 Ex Officio, Interim Executive Director $8,890 $7,877 2024
Family Learning Solutions Inc Co Lori S Melman MD$164,514 Founder & Executive Director $50,000 $43,196 2024
Chinese Language School Of Connecticut CT$165,299 Academic Director $20,000 $17,328 2024
Creating Positive Relationships Inc IN$157,232 Executive Director $52,428 $49,772 2025
School Mindfulness Project PA$156,248 Founder/ceo $54,545 $51,748 2023
The Fairlight Foundation $167,559 Executive Director $47,174 $47,174 2023
Ihsaa Foundation Inc IN$168,393 President $30,377 $30,476 2023
Youth Of The Diaspora MD$154,314 Co Founder $21,380 $18,471 2024
The Ana Grace Project Inc CT$153,958 Executive Director $65,000 $57,980 2023
Wonder Institute WY$153,430 Director Of Wonder Lab $91,875 $93,595 2023
Taos Institute OH$171,029 President $8,010 $8,071 2023
Claremont Senior Center Inc NH$171,140 Executive Director $20,010 $17,073 2024
Offering Alternative Therapy With Smiles MI$171,225 Executive Director $37,000 $36,332 2023
Whats Your Forte Foundation AZ$171,585 Executive Dir. $80,000 $71,095 2024
Akademia Jana Pawla Ii - Polish NJ$151,444 Director $5,600 $4,620 2024
Iaapa Foundation FL$151,115 President And Ceo $41,231 $36,849 2023
Women Empowering Nations Inc OK$150,850 Executive Director $66,995 $68,168 2024
Music Youth Partnership Foundation KS$173,124 Executive Director $9,750 $9,482 2025
Northwest Pbis Network Inc OR$173,146 Executive Director $146,743 $129,644 2023
Njecc Inc NJ$173,243 President $24,368 $19,586 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TN 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 TN 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 default39th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)37th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted41st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted34th

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 (Jennifer Welch) 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 205 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (B90), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $31,105 is reasonable (approximately the 39th 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.