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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Zephyr Theatre

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 811157243
MN · NTEE A31
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jim Weckwerth, Executive Director / CEO ($48,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 71 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 32nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

71 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 71 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,561 total compensation of comparable organizations → $204,122 $48,000
$16,19510th
$42,15425th
$62,920Median
$94,26475th
$129,84690th
$48,000This org · 32nd
p10$16,195
p25$42,154
p50$62,920
p75$94,264
p90$129,846
$48,000

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 MN 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
Association Of Film Commissioners CA$359,507 Executive Director $120,000 $107,964 2023
Black Girls Film Camp NC$361,259 Executive Dir $41,400 $43,292 2024
Garden State Film Festival NJ$365,589 Executive Director $30,000 $26,409 2025
Cinefemme CA$346,073 Executive Director $170,504 $153,403 2023
Hamptons Take 2 Documentary Film NY$373,762 Pres & Exec Dir $65,000 $59,442 2024
Checkerboard Foundation Inc NY$340,581 Chairman & President $20,000 $18,290 2024
New Plaza Cinema Inc NY$338,151 General Mgr/ $35,000 $32,953 2023
Sun Valley Film Festival Inc ID$379,947 Chairman/ed $42,900 $46,186 2024
Florida Film Institute Inc FL$333,870 President $69,675 $66,242 2024
Dc Independent Film Festival DC$381,791 Executive Director $40,000 $35,523 2024
Julien Dubuque International Film Festival IA$331,397 Executive Director $67,980 $75,329 2024
Tallgrass Film Association KS$330,994 Executive Director $68,725 $75,139 2024
Mendocino Film Festival Inc CA$330,313 Festival Administrator $71,890 $61,205 2025
Aitysh Usa CA$386,691 Executive Director $68,000 $61,180 2023
The Kindling Group IL$386,818 Executive Director $88,200 $90,346 2023
Bravemaker CA$324,639 President $132,000 $118,761 2023
James R Halsey Foundation Of The Arts NJ$323,352 Ceo $60,000 $55,816 2023
Southern Oregon Film Society OR$314,913 Executive Director $4,387 $4,017 2025
Visart Inc NC$400,703 Executive Director $39,224 $41,016 2024
Field Of Vision Inc NY$313,671 Executive Dir. $223,207 $204,122 2024
International Ocean Film Foundation Inc CA$308,708 Executive Director $76,000 $64,704 2025
Silicon Valley Jewish Film Festival CA$410,985 Executive Director $166,001 $149,351 2023
Filmforum Inc CA$303,502 Vice President $18,000 $16,195 2023
Port Townsend Film Institute WA$412,527 Executive Dir. $83,500 $75,657 2024
Watsonville Film Festival CA$301,726 Executive Dir. $72,000 $62,920 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MN 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 MN 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 default32nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)30th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted32nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted32nd

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 (Jim Weckwerth) 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 71 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A31), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $48,000 is reasonable (approximately the 32nd 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.