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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Musical Instruments N Kids Hands

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 743194527
CA · NTEE A6C
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Clarence Kirby, Executive Director / CEO ($17,490) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 33 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 24th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Clarence Kirby — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

33 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 33 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,000 total compensation of comparable organizations → $185,350 $17,490
$4,06210th
$21,54225th
$42,003Median
$83,74475th
$101,40290th
$17,490This org · 24th
p10$4,062
p25$21,542
p50$42,003
p75$83,744
p90$101,402
$17,490

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 CA 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
Chapparells Baton & Drum Corps Inc OH$402,428 President $18,720 $22,962 2024
45th Parallel OR$404,538 Executive Dir. $3,322 $3,480 2025
Akropolis Quintet Inc MI$358,605 Executive Di $52,000 $62,157 2024
Cleveland Jazz Orchestra OH$351,397 Executive Di $55,000 $67,462 2024
Reno Jazz Orchestra NV$425,240 Executive Di $33,900 $38,337 2025
Piedmont Wind Symphony NC$346,466 Executive Di $40,520 $47,237 2025
Chamber Music Unbound CA$426,356 Education Director $103,220 $100,559 2025
We Always Swing Inc MO$335,970 Exec. Director $70,200 $88,650 2023
Playback Memphis Inc TN$438,456 Executive Director $85,300 $103,835 2024
Israeli Chamber Project Inc NY$332,660 Vice President $80,025 $83,744 2024
Groove Inc SD$328,225 Executive Director $43,500 $55,597 2024
The Vigil Project Inc LA$327,253 Director $71,854 $91,628 2024
Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra Inc VA$317,966 Music Direct $23,846 $26,664 2024
The Louisville Leopard Percussionists KY$313,220 Founder, Director $22,500 $27,273 2025
Byron Schenkman & Friends WA$312,706 Executive Dir. $38,676 $40,101 2024
The Queer Big Apple Corps Inc NY$300,245 Executive Director $101,621 $109,485 2023
International Sejong Soloists Inc NY$472,105 Executive Director $10,417 $11,223 2023
North Texas Colorguard Association TX$296,239 President $5,000 $5,792 2024
Delirium Musicum CA$289,286 President $63,410 $63,410 2024
Walnut Creek Concert Band CA$483,135 Treasurer $2,600 $2,600 2024
Project Music Heals Us Inc CT$483,164 Executive Director $11,364 $12,339 2024
Milwaukee Jazz Institute Inc WI$288,509 Executive Dir. $60,000 $72,567 2024
Allentown Band Inc PA$275,036 Director $12,423 $14,347 2024
Sun Valley Jazz Jamboree WA$271,187 President $28,100 $29,135 2024
City Sound Drum And Bugle Corps CA$265,067 Treasurer $1,000 $1,000 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA 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 CA 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 default24th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)24th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted24th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted24th

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 (Clarence Kirby) 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 33 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A6C), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $17,490 is reasonable (approximately the 24th 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.