Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Rafaela Risco, Executive Director / CEO ($41,625) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 45 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 71st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range
Benchmarked executive: Rafaela Risco — reported title “Director/Employee”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.
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 KY cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.
| Organization | State | Revenue | Matched title | Comp (reported) | Comp (adjusted) | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Rythmic Gymnastics-ext Mail | WA | $256,402 | President | $14,256 | $12,194 | 2024 |
| Safe Haven Ballet | NH | $264,008 | Executive Director | $19,500 | $17,711 | 2023 |
| Fadeyev Ballet Inc | NY | $265,067 | President | $57,000 | $47,941 | 2025 |
| Kansas School Of Classical Ballet Inc | KS | $252,283 | Executive Director | $24,000 | $24,133 | 2025 |
| Santa Clarita Ballet Company Inc | CA | $267,794 | Artistic Director | $51,500 | $42,488 | 2024 |
| Macomb Ballet Company | MI | $271,104 | Artistic Dir | $28,700 | $28,302 | 2024 |
| Metropolitan Ballet Theatre Inc | GA | $275,350 | Artistic Director | $35,184 | $32,928 | 2025 |
| Ventura County Ballet Company | CA | $239,678 | Executive Dir. | $4,167 | $3,349 | 2025 |
| Ballet Repertory Theatre Of New Mexico | NM | $288,188 | Executive & Artist Director | $53,333 | $54,805 | 2024 |
| Ozark Ballet Theater | AR | $228,282 | Executive Director | $32,973 | $35,410 | 2024 |
| Ballet Theatre Of Carmel Academy Ltd | IN | $291,185 | Associate Artistic Directo | $5,004 | $5,041 | 2024 |
| Ekklesia Contemporary Ballet Inc | CT | $225,596 | Artistic Director | $37,754 | $33,820 | 2024 |
| Cary Ballet Company | NC | $294,785 | Artistic Director | $16,000 | $15,795 | 2024 |
| Ballet And Beyond Nyc Inc | NY | $222,801 | Director, President, Treasurer | $6,600 | $5,551 | 2025 |
| United Ballet Theatre Inc | FL | $220,444 | Director And Founder | $5,700 | $5,267 | 2023 |
| Royal Expressions Contemporary Ballet | NC | $297,417 | Founding Director | $20,701 | $20,436 | 2024 |
| Ballet Theatre San Luis Obispo | CA | $219,597 | President & Treasurer | $6,295 | $5,194 | 2024 |
| Palmetto City Ballet | SC | $217,788 | Artistic Director And Ceo | $5,950 | $5,778 | 2025 |
| Paradosi Christian Ballet | WA | $214,799 | Executive Director, President, And Registered Agent | $31,800 | $28,005 | 2023 |
| Academy Of Ballet Arts Inc | FL | $303,715 | President | $29,925 | $26,859 | 2024 |
| On Stage Theatrical Productions Inc | MA | $306,386 | Director | $7,205 | $6,026 | 2025 |
| Port Angeles City Ballet | WA | $210,924 | Vice President | $4,450 | $3,807 | 2024 |
| Lakecities Ballet Theatre | TX | $210,773 | Artistic Director | $10,000 | $9,557 | 2024 |
| Petipa Heritage Foundation | CA | $210,369 | Executive Dir. | $18,873 | $16,030 | 2023 |
| Rise Up School Of Dance | UT | $207,910 | President | $47,240 | $47,557 | 2023 |
Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to KY cost of living and 2025 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.
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 KY 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.
Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:
| Basis | Subject percentile |
|---|---|
| Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default | 71st |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 71st |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 71st |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 71st |
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.
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
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.