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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Forum Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 660688974
VI · NTEE A24
FY ending 2023-09-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Nicole Koertz-parson, Executive Director / CEO ($24,000) against the 2000 closest of 2,173 comparable organizations — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 30th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Nicole Koertz-parson — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

2,173 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 2,000 within the band form the benchmarked peer set (closest by budget).

Distribution of comparable compensation

$20 total compensation of comparable organizations → $289,402 $24,000
$6,24210th
$19,50025th
$38,650Median
$58,11375th
$75,59990th
$24,000This org · 30th
p10$6,242
p25$19,500
p50$38,650
p75$58,113
p90$75,599
$24,000

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); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateRevenueMatched titleComp
(reported)
Comp
(adjusted)
FY
Guthrie Center Corp MA$207,729 Clerk/ Direc $15,445 $15,002 2024
Artspartners Of Central Illinois Inc IL$207,717 Executive Director $71,945 $69,881 2024
Southwest Roots Music Inc NM$207,751 Treasurer/executive Director $40,000 $40,000 2023
The Genesis Collective Inc PA$207,690 Executive Dir. $45,833 $44,518 2024
Maryland Center For The Visual And Performing Arts Inc MD$207,895 Executive Director $22,000 $20,818 2025
Rise Up School Of Dance UT$207,910 President $47,240 $47,240 2023
Sound Affects Music CO$207,552 Executive Director $49,999 $49,999 2023
Heritage Sylvania Inc OH$207,974 Executive Di $48,288 $48,288 2023
Terminal Radio Inc AK$208,046 Director Of $60,500 $58,764 2024
Camp Paxson Preservation Project MT$208,048 Executive Dir. $30,000 $30,000 2023
Music Conservatory Of Coeur D Alene Inc ID$207,388 Executive Operations Manager $14,800 $14,800 2023
Virginia Trust For Historic Preservation VA$207,370 Executive Dir. $74,424 $72,289 2024
Arts A L Inc FL$207,356 Executive Director $80,250 $80,250 2023
Theater At The Center Inc IN$208,112 Administrator $44,677 $44,677 2023
State Theatre Preservation Society PA$207,334 President $3,116 $3,116 2023
International Women's Air & Space OH$207,319 Executive Di $45,424 $44,121 2024
Restoration Stage Inc MD$207,234 Executive Dir $50,098 $50,098 2023
Virginia Hispanic Chamber Foundation VA$207,211 President & Ceo $30,000 $29,139 2024
Hudson Riverfront NJ$207,103 President/executive Direct $91,163 $88,548 2024
Evergreen Players Inc CO$207,078 Executive Director $58,055 $58,055 2023
Nrithya Sangeeth IL$206,990 Officer $90,000 $90,000 2023
Arts Live Theatre Inc AR$206,979 Executive Director $42,760 $41,533 2024
Our Fabulous Variety Show Inc NY$208,492 Executive Di $33,648 $31,840 2025
Artrageous IN$206,973 President $32,400 $31,470 2024
Irish Music School Of Chicago IL$208,516 President $67,770 $65,826 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VI 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. 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 default30th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)29th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted31st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted29th

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 (Nicole Koertz-parson) 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 2000 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (A), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $24,000 is reasonable (approximately the 30th 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.