Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of John Nelson, Executive Director / CEO ($15,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 1280 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 22nd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations
Benchmarked executive: John Nelson — reported title “PRESIDENT”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.
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 CO cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.
| Organization | State | Revenue | Matched title | Comp (reported) | Comp (adjusted) | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warbirds Of Glory Museum | MI | $154,634 | President | $50,058 | $53,884 | 2023 |
| Souls Grown Deep Community | GA | $154,807 | President | $222,172 | $232,970 | 2023 |
| Pinball Edu Inc | MD | $154,412 | Executive Di | $24,242 | $22,958 | 2024 |
| South Carolina Cotton Museum Inc | SC | $155,011 | Executive Di | $33,692 | $36,656 | 2023 |
| Alleghany Jam | NC | $155,028 | Executive Director | $53,791 | $54,850 | 2025 |
| Elios Charitable Foundation | CA | $155,069 | Executive Dir. | $58,750 | $52,906 | 2023 |
| Stage Left Theater Association | WA | $155,129 | Managing Director | $12,000 | $10,883 | 2024 |
| Voices | CO | $154,176 | Executive Director | $72,000 | $72,000 | 2023 |
| Westerly Armory Restoration Inc | RI | $155,312 | Treasurer | $26,250 | $25,497 | 2024 |
| Heritage Alliance Of Ne Tn & Sw Va | TN | $155,315 | Director | $45,478 | $49,854 | 2023 |
| Zeitgeist Northwest | OR | $155,341 | School Director | $5,600 | $5,423 | 2023 |
| Beyond The Grade | TX | $154,023 | Executive Director | $117,012 | $118,566 | 2024 |
| West Nebraska Arts Center | NE | $155,385 | Executive Di | $43,358 | $47,238 | 2024 |
| Maiden Alley Cinema | KY | $153,899 | Executive Director | $19,385 | $21,097 | 2024 |
| Intersectional Arts Inc | CA | $153,831 | President | $3,375 | $2,952 | 2024 |
| Mauch Chunk Museum & Cultural | PA | $153,792 | Secretary/tr | $17,181 | $17,356 | 2024 |
| Detroit Performing Artists Inc | MI | $153,760 | Executive Di | $21,186 | $22,805 | 2023 |
| Lightbox Film Center | PA | $153,749 | Board Director | $21,000 | $21,214 | 2024 |
| Pax Amicus Foundation | NJ | $155,661 | President | $12,000 | $10,853 | 2024 |
| Warren County Historical Society | PA | $155,664 | Executive Director | $39,287 | $40,858 | 2023 |
| Womens Chorus Of Dallas | TX | $155,690 | General Manager | $1,934 | $1,909 | 2025 |
| Tubatulabals Of Kern Valley | CA | $155,709 | Chairman | $4,840 | $4,233 | 2024 |
| Quakertown Alive | PA | $155,888 | Executive Director | $67,022 | $67,703 | 2024 |
| Hastings Museum Foundation Inc | NE | $153,425 | Executive Di | $62,000 | $69,544 | 2023 |
| American Dance Machine For The 21st Century | NY | $153,425 | President | $5,250 | $4,947 | 2023 |
Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CO cost of living and 2023 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.
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 CO 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.
Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:
| Basis | Subject percentile |
|---|---|
| Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default | 22nd |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 22nd |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 24th |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 21st |
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.
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
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.