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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Bower Center For The Arts

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 810684725
VA · NTEE A60
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Susan Martin, Executive Director / CEO ($63,750) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 145 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 75th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Susan Martin — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

145 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 145 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $111,839 $63,750
$12,42510th
$26,54125th
$48,725Median
$63,66175th
$79,25490th
$63,750This org · 75th
p10$12,425
p25$26,541
p50$48,725
p75$63,661
p90$79,254
$63,750

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 VA 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
Childrens Legacy Theatre Inc DC$322,058 Executive Director $51,970 $47,233 2024
Mishpachah Inc OH$321,109 Director $60,911 $68,790 2023
Teada Productions CA$323,308 President & $60,000 $52,275 2025
Rocky Mountain Ballet Theatre MT$324,315 Associate Dir. $30,000 $33,492 2024
Sandglass Center For Puppetry & Theater Research Ltd VT$318,179 Board Member And Artistic Director $37,556 $40,306 2023
Unison Learning Center Inc NY$326,868 Executive Director $63,000 $60,702 2023
Arts For Kids Inc NJ$316,270 Executive Director $57,868 $52,131 2025
Odyssey Opera Of Boston Inc MA$327,762 Executive Director $106,167 $101,727 2023
Sino Us Performing Arts Organization CA$327,781 Secretary $62,699 $57,729 2023
Crossroads Creative & Performing Arts OR$327,878 Executive Director $63,167 $62,548 2023
Atlanta Dance Theatre Inc GA$315,215 Artistic Dir $65,078 $67,770 2024
North Bay Theatrics Inc CA$328,366 President $64,408 $59,302 2023
Staibdance Inc GA$328,628 Admin Director $40,000 $41,655 2024
Yes And Collaborative Arts PA$314,678 Executive Director $32,490 $33,556 2024
Performing Arts Academy Of New TX$313,628 Chairman $29,996 $31,076 2024
Texan-french Alliance For The Arts TX$329,894 Executive Director $83,999 $89,594 2023
Reno Dance Company NV$311,005 Executive Director $15,000 $15,572 2024
Xelias Aerial Arts Studio MN$309,842 Executive Director $96,000 $95,711 2025
Danceast Collective TN$334,000 Executive Director $1 $1 2025
7th Street Theatre Association WA$335,673 Prior Manager $18,601 $17,757 2023
Forces Of Nature Inc NY$336,324 President $24,400 $22,247 2025
Youth Dance Ensemble And School MN$306,706 Executive Director $60,468 $60,286 2025
Ghostlight Productions Inc MI$306,295 General Manager & Artistic Director $39,250 $41,958 2024
Ztp MN$337,220 Executive Artistic Director $62,150 $65,482 2023
Authentic Community Theatre Inc MD$339,283 President $33,950 $33,844 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to VA 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 VA 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 default75th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)77th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted75th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted75th

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 (Susan Martin) 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 145 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $63,750 is reasonable (approximately the 75th 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.