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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Tupelo Community Theatre Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 640501302
MS · NTEE A61
FY ending 2024-07-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Lisa Martin, Executive Director / CEO ($53,083) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 41 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: Lisa Martin — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

41 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 41 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$210 total compensation of comparable organizations → $77,234 $53,083
$9,21810th
$18,12825th
$33,134Median
$54,45875th
$70,52790th
$53,083This org · 71st
p10$9,218
p25$18,128
p50$33,134
p75$54,458
p90$70,527
$53,083

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
Sierra Performing Arts Association CA$237,699 Board Member $2,210 $1,713 2024
Miller Beach Arts & Creative District Cdc IN$234,484 Executive Director $44,000 $40,588 2025
Minden Opera House Inc NE$225,793 Executive Di $56,392 $54,458 2024
Chapin Community Theatre Inc SC$225,393 Artistic Director $12,867 $12,052 2024
Art Maker Llc OK$250,217 President, Chief Operating Officer $28,050 $27,732 2024
Contemporary Performing Arts Of Chattanooga Inc TN$224,762 Secretary $1,300 $1,227 2024
Arts Center Task Force WA$220,960 Executive Director $39,654 $31,877 2024
Blue Bamboo Center For The Arts Inc FL$254,888 Executive Director $2,275 $1,919 2024
Abilene Performing Arts Company Inc TX$219,949 Executive Dir. $42,230 $36,951 2025
Dynamic Xplosion Cheer Inc FL$256,232 Cheif Executive Officer $23,783 $20,060 2024
Deertrees Theatre Limited ME$257,564 Director $30,501 $27,423 2024
Cunneen Hackett Cultural Center Inc NY$257,753 Executive Director $54,550 $45,566 2023
The Jazz Bakery Performance Space CA$217,004 Pres./artistic Director $45,780 $35,494 2024
Pennsport School Of Dance PA$215,006 Co- Executive Director $10,000 $9,218 2023
Joseph Avenue Arts And Culture NY$213,744 Executive Director $79,735 $63,025 2025
Visionbox Studio CO$266,323 Executive Director $83,827 $72,171 2024
Hudson Riverfront NJ$207,103 President/executive Direct $91,163 $73,081 2024
Bigfork Center For The Performing MT$206,454 Executive Di $11,125 $11,086 2023
Continuing The Legacy Dance Foundation NV$274,112 President $61,710 $55,539 2024
Legacy Theater Foundation Inc IL$274,435 Executive Director $231 $210 2023
Nichole Canuso Dance Company PA$274,581 Artistic Director $40,800 $36,532 2024
Venetian Arts Society Inc FL$200,256 Executive Director $14,400 $12,146 2024
Friends Of South Florida Music Inc FL$277,654 Executive Di $81,616 $68,841 2024
Harford Ballet Company Inc MD$196,465 Executive Di $29,000 $24,343 2024
Green Mountain Performing Arts Inc VT$279,397 Former Exec Dir $36,664 $33,134 2024

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 default71st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)63rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted73rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted68th

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 (Lisa Martin) 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 41 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A61), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $53,083 is reasonable (approximately the 71st 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.