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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

New Orleans Academy Of Ophthalmology

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 582080242
LA · NTEE A20Z
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of A Courtney Finkelstein, Executive Director / CEO ($53,978) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 299 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 75th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

299 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 299 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$248 total compensation of comparable organizations → $252,762 $53,978
$7,39310th
$21,33425th
$36,928Median
$53,86275th
$68,25090th
$53,978This org · 75th
p10$7,393
p25$21,334
p50$36,928
p75$53,862
p90$68,250
$53,978

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 LA 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
Firestone Park Cultural And Custodi OH$256,796 President $3,000 $2,803 2024
Northwest Connecticut Arts Council Inc CT$257,836 Executive Dir. $55,000 $46,832 2023
Lynn Music Foundation Inc MA$257,919 President $10,785 $8,801 2023
Northern California Music & Art Culture Center CA$256,509 Executive Director $48,000 $36,561 2024
Blue Sage Center For The Arts CO$256,184 Executive Di $43,577 $36,859 2024
Sephardic Heritage International DC$255,964 Executive Director $20,833 $16,126 2024
Palmo Center For Peace & Education OR$255,475 Presdient $57,946 $48,869 2023
Contemporary Art Group CA$255,236 Executive Director $62,500 $49,012 2023
New Mexico Advocates For The Arts NM$255,053 Director $10,460 $10,217 2023
Ecoarts Of Lake County CA$254,901 Executive Di $43,775 $34,328 2023
Arts Center At Duck Creek Inc NY$260,193 President $94,880 $75,628 2024
Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation Inc GA$254,029 Executive Di $11,735 $10,408 2024
Brasarte The Damasceno Brazilian Cultural Exchange CA$253,770 Executive Director $11,500 $8,534 2025
Canyon Cinema Foundation CA$261,223 Executive Director $58,708 $46,038 2023
Rockport Cultural Arts District TX$261,701 Executive Director $76,000 $69,041 2023
Arts In Motion Studio West Michigan MI$252,632 Executive Director $52,000 $47,345 2024
Que-os NC$261,808 Executive Director $79,186 $70,313 2025
Fire Island Artist Residency Incorporated NY$252,169 Executive Director $48,500 $38,659 2024
Elk River Arts & Lectures MT$252,132 Executive Di $45,150 $42,931 2024
Instituto Mazatlan Bellas Artes CA$251,111 Secretary $35,664 $27,967 2023
Waldos And Company PA$251,012 Executive Dir. $24,000 $21,111 2024
Rhode Island Black Storytellers RI$263,583 Executive Director $60,643 $51,293 2024
Polk Arts Alliance Inc FL$250,687 Executive Director $50,000 $41,434 2024
Avon Hills Folk School MN$250,182 Executive Director $79,296 $69,115 2024
Pasacat Inc CA$264,275 Executive Director Administra $5,700 $4,470 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to LA 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 LA 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 default75th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)63rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted73rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted73rd

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 (A Courtney Finkelstein) 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 299 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $53,978 is reasonable (approximately the 75th 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.