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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Starkville Area Arts Council

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 640883420
MS · NTEE A26
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Mary Switzer, Executive Director / CEO ($46,200) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 35 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 63rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

35 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 35 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$443 total compensation of comparable organizations → $137,588 $46,200
$3,22910th
$29,78525th
$40,495Median
$52,78975th
$62,81790th
$46,200This org · 63rd
p10$3,229
p25$29,785
p50$40,495
p75$52,789
p90$62,817
$46,200

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
The Compound Inc MD$203,675 Treasurer $1,846 $1,550 2023
Arts Council Of Southwestern Indiana Inc IN$204,241 Executive Director $61,790 $56,827 2024
The Staunton Augusta Art Center Inc VA$204,331 Interim Exec $33,987 $29,464 2023
Theatre League Of South Florida Inc FL$204,432 Executive Director $40,498 $33,179 2024
Artspartners Of Central Illinois Inc IL$207,717 Executive Director $71,945 $61,685 2024
Cahiers D'art Institute NY$184,633 Secretary And Treasurer $20,000 $15,761 2024
Southeast Texas Arts Council Inc TX$183,951 Exec Directo $50,000 $44,907 2023
Cooperstown Art Association Inc NY$210,929 Executive Direc $62,300 $50,546 2023
Johnston County Arts Council Inc NC$212,629 Executive Di $52,800 $46,352 2025
Chinese American Arts Council NY$213,969 Executive Director $39,180 $31,788 2023
Kern River Valley Art Associat CA$216,842 President $18,000 $13,206 2025
Randolph Arts Guild Inc NC$219,464 Director $51,304 $45,040 2025
Hammond Cultural Foundation Inc LA$171,408 Executive Di $47,515 $45,629 2024
Arizona Citizens For The Arts AZ$170,457 Ceo $105,000 $88,067 2024
Clarksville-montgomery County TN$224,353 Executive Dir. $40,008 $35,731 2025
Huntingdon County Arts Council PA$229,077 Executive Director $34,615 $30,105 2024
Greater Birmingham Arts Education Collaborative Inc AL$229,095 Executive Director $55,829 $52,600 2024
Artreach St Croix MN$232,525 Executive Di $73,243 $63,117 2024
Shoreline Arts Alliance Inc CT$246,862 Ceo/executiv $172,714 $137,588 2025
Putnam Arts Council NY$248,244 President $78,640 $61,973 2024
Creative Alliance Manitou Springs CO$144,375 Vice Chair $2,800 $2,411 2023
Chagrin Foundation For Arts OH$259,370 Executive Di $45,000 $40,495 2025
East Bay Center For Thepreservation Oof Cultural Arts CA$260,374 President/admin Support $10,947 $8,031 2025
Emerald Empire Art Association Inc OR$131,982 Director $5,344 $4,456 2023
Chenango County Council Of The Arts NY$261,508 Executive Director $42,182 $32,385 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MS 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 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 default63rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)51st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted63rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted63rd

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 (Mary Switzer) 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 35 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A26), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $46,200 is reasonable (approximately the 63rd 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.