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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

West End Arts District

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 811374719
CA · NTEE A12
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Tara Pilbrow, Executive Director / CEO ($41,908) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 24 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 42nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Tara Pilbrow — reported title “Executive Dir.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

24 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 24 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$5,096 total compensation of comparable organizations → $170,714 $41,908
$12,40810th
$22,90525th
$53,322Median
$81,34875th
$109,47690th
$41,908This org · 42nd
p10$12,408
p25$22,905
p50$53,322
p75$81,348
p90$109,476
$41,908

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
The Maasai Girls Education Fund DC$336,413 Executive Director $111,006 $109,902 2025
Love Our Heros Inc OH$330,261 President $16,292 $19,983 2024
The Nvld Project Inc NY$324,275 Executive Director $100,691 $108,482 2023
Arts For All Inc OK$312,073 Exec. Director $17,615 $22,463 2024
The Little Exchange Inc OH$309,990 Merchandise Office Manager $53,516 $65,642 2024
Wayne County Childrens Steam Playlab OH$309,399 President $40,351 $50,956 2023
Icicle Fund WA$368,744 Executive Director Thru 10/31/24 $164,650 $170,714 2024
Walton Arts Center Foundation Inc AR$301,624 Ceo/president $35,197 $45,817 2024
1888 Buckle Club Inc AZ$379,755 Executive Dir. $50,000 $55,687 2024
Act Foundation Of Teton Valley ID$296,930 Executive Dir. $53,163 $67,428 2023
Region 30 Uil Music TX$293,772 Executive Dir. $63,000 $71,100 2025
Lakeland Foundation WA$284,403 Executive Director $34,207 $34,552 2025
The Clay Studio Holdings Inc PA$398,000 Executive Di $4,530 $5,096 2025
Annies Art Attic Inc AZ$274,610 President $24,923 $28,578 2023
Texas Public Radio Foundation TX$408,979 Interim Pres $8,155 $9,447 2024
Colorado Springs Philharmonic Foundation CO$267,308 President And Ceo $13,450 $14,936 2024
Acmp Foundation NY$265,972 Executive Director $37,969 $39,733 2024
New Jersey Arts And Culture Renewal Fund NJ$427,704 Executive Director $22,295 $23,052 2024
National Association Of Voice Actors Foundation CA$241,860 President $11,000 $11,325 2023
Friends Of Fieldworkers Inc CA$240,549 Executive Director $62,696 $62,696 2024
Vital Wines WA$445,354 Executive Director $73,800 $78,779 2023
Diablo Regional Arts Association CA$454,175 Exec Director $155,406 $159,996 2023
Scientific & Cultural Collaborative CO$455,052 Director $92,918 $103,181 2024
Arts Action Alliance Foundation OR$495,590 Executive Dir. $84,999 $89,056 2025

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 default42nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)50th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted46th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted21st

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 (Tara Pilbrow) 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 24 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A12), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $41,908 is reasonable (approximately the 42nd 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.