Live preview — download the board-ready PDF to attach to your minutes.Download the free PDF
Email yourself a copy:
PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Arkansas Choral Directors

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 710498737
AR · NTEE A6B
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Terri Whitwort, Executive Director / CEO ($55,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 60 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 62nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

How comparable organizations were selected

60 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 60 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,705 total compensation of comparable organizations → $91,424 $55,000
$18,73110th
$31,44125th
$43,866Median
$62,75575th
$75,43090th
$55,000This org · 62nd
p10$18,731
p25$31,441
p50$43,866
p75$62,755
p90$75,430
$55,000

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), normalized to AR cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateTotal revenueTotal compSource
Roanoke Valley Childrens Choir IncVA $360,633$63,656 990
The City Choir Of WashingtonDC $369,405$62,455 990
Wilmington Children's ChorusDE $344,704$53,849 990
Salt Lake Choral ArtistsUT $341,175$81,947 990
Singomaha IncNE $379,388$73,884 990
Jack Music IncNY $338,095$37,516 990
The Piatigorsky FoundationNY $331,767$4,138 990
VoenaCA $390,949$84,631 990
Refugee Choir ProjectWA $327,706$75,089 990
Atlanta Master ChoraleGA $325,611$54,566 990
Miami Childrens Chorus IncFL $398,251$41,818 990
Columbus & Central Ohio Children'sOH $399,094$52,531 990
The Hymn Society In The United StatesDC $399,922$82,225 990
Children's Chorus Of Maryland IncMD $319,203$70,914 990
Blue Heron Renaissance Choir IncMA $314,922$39,850 990
The Talent Machine Company IncMD $313,727$1,705 990
The Girl Choir Of South Florida IncFL $309,837$39,625 990
Society For The Preservation OfMO $412,643$27,797 990
National Choral Council IncNY $306,582$59,489 990
Island Choral ExperienceWA $306,575$71,685 990
Larimer Choral SocietyCO $299,706$23,893 990
San Luis Obispo Master ChoraleCA $299,577$13,580 990
Charlotte Master ChoraleNC $299,056$48,681 990
Central Dakota Children's ChoirND $298,536$33,789 990
The Glen Ellyn Children's ChorusIL $295,492$20,252 990

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 AR 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 default62nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)53rd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted63rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted62nd

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 (Terri Whitwort) 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 60 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A6B), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $55,000 is reasonable (approximately the 62nd 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). 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.