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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Indian Music Society Of Houston

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 760534260
TX · NTEE A680
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Shantilal Shah, Executive Director / CEO ($145,904) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 130 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 100th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Shantilal Shah — reported title “TABLA TEACHER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

130 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 130 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$110 total compensation of comparable organizations → $104,469 $145,904
$10,52010th
$20,23725th
$35,300Median
$50,67175th
$76,70990th
$145,904This org · 100th
p10$10,520
p25$20,237
p50$35,300
p75$50,671
p90$76,709
$145,904

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 TX 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
La Donna Musicale Inc MA$200,800 Executive Di $58,150 $50,740 2024
Chiarina DC$201,516 Co-president $34,750 $28,847 2025
Methow Music Festival Association WA$201,532 Executive Director $10,540 $9,163 2024
The Spk Academy Of Music Inc AZ$199,553 Director $27,300 $25,494 2024
International Horn Society CA$199,373 Executive Director $44,000 $36,893 2024
Make Music Nola LA$197,775 Executive Director $90,268 $94,028 2025
Brooklyn Youth Music Project Inc NY$203,789 Artistic Dir $43,732 $38,371 2024
Aequalis Inc FL$204,241 Pres. & Treas. $16,623 $14,773 2025
Anthropos Arts TX$195,584 Executive Officer $58,333 $56,659 2024
Tampa Metropolitan Youth Orchestra FL$206,773 Executive Di $15,000 $13,330 2025
Music Conservatory Of Coeur D Alene Inc ID$207,388 Executive Operations Manager $14,800 $15,739 2023
Southwest Roots Music Inc NM$207,751 Treasurer/executive Director $40,000 $43,009 2023
New Choral Society Of Central Westchester NY$193,599 Executive Director $18,500 $16,712 2023
Joy For Generations TN$191,568 President $10,200 $10,718 2023
Red Cedar Chamber Music IA$190,279 Executive Di $37,561 $39,934 2024
Soundcorps Inc TN$211,424 Former Executive Director $40,008 $40,835 2024
Great American Brass Band Festival Inc KY$211,712 Sponsorhip Coordinator $13,820 $14,045 2025
Sacraprofana Inc CA$188,463 Director $2,000 $1,726 2023
Washington Metropolitan VA$187,379 Executive Di $30,000 $28,126 2024
Early Music Foundation Inc NY$214,692 General Manager $46,000 $41,554 2023
Rocky Mountain Highway CO$215,371 Executive Director $36,458 $33,945 2024
Women In Music Inc NY$185,771 President $12,000 $10,529 2024
Camille Catherine Inc OH$215,685 Pres/sec/treas $79,000 $83,647 2023
Hill Country Youth Orchestras Inc TX$185,192 Executive Director $41,166 $39,985 2024
North Shore Music Alliance Inc IL$217,260 President $10,000 $9,828 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TX 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 TX 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 default100th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)100th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted100th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted99th

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 (Shantilal Shah) 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 130 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A68), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $145,904 is reasonable (approximately the 100th 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.