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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Japan-america Society Of Tennessee

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 621797389
TN · NTEE A230
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Sammie Arnold, Executive Director / CEO ($86,009) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 162 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 81st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Sammie Arnold — reported title “President”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

162 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 162 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$942 total compensation of comparable organizations → $165,215 $86,009
$15,03810th
$31,22325th
$55,577Median
$78,67375th
$98,64790th
$86,009This org · 81st
p10$15,038
p25$31,223
p50$55,577
p75$78,673
p90$98,647
$86,009

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
Igogo International IN$492,085 President $125,000 $125,407 2024
New York Chinese Cultural Center Inc NY$493,915 Executive Director $85,500 $73,501 2024
Foundation For Korean Language & Culture In The Usa CA$494,664 Secretary $43,091 $35,399 2024
Japanese Cultural Center Tea House & MI$495,853 Executive Director $23,074 $22,658 2024
Enrich Chicago IL$489,079 Executive Director $89,889 $84,072 2024
Be The Healing Inc OR$496,535 Executive Dir. $24,000 $20,657 2025
Latinos United For A New America CA$487,880 Co-director $87,517 $71,895 2024
Subject Matter Inc NY$487,822 Co-executive Director $60,000 $51,580 2024
German-american Society Of Trenton NJ$498,276 Trustee $1,682 $1,471 2023
The Westerners The First People Of CA$486,134 President & Ceo $141,242 $116,029 2024
Charro Days Inc TX$499,901 Executive Director $44,000 $40,793 2025
Korean Performing Arts Institute Of Chicago IL$483,721 Education Director $36,375 $34,021 2024
Na Maka Haloa O Waipio HI$483,586 President $71,200 $62,436 2023
Aleut International Association AK$481,180 Executive Di $80,859 $73,544 2024
Hospitality Center For Chinese MN$504,509 Executive Director $71,004 $65,026 2025
Alliance Francaise De St Louis MO$504,539 Executive Director $86,737 $87,398 2024
Korean American Center CA$506,498 Ceo $67,500 $55,451 2024
Brasil Brasil Cultural Center CA$477,881 Director $50,600 $41,567 2024
Green Card Voices MN$509,876 Co-director $84,815 $79,730 2024
Six Square Austins Black Cultural District TX$474,275 Executive Director $76,667 $72,960 2024
Silence Is Violence Fka New Orleans LA$511,548 Executive Director $70,526 $73,881 2024
Black Hills Powwow Association SD$512,183 Vice President $3,190 $3,349 2024
Maine-wabanaki Reach ME$513,806 Executive Dir. $29,980 $27,823 2025
Stone Soup Leadership Institute Inc MA$514,585 Secretary $90,000 $76,941 2024
Brooklyn Japanese American Family NY$514,591 President $34,776 $30,779 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TN 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 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 default81st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)73rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted86th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted80th

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 (Sammie Arnold) 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 162 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A23), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $86,009 is reasonable (approximately the 81st 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.