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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Arts In Ct

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 811505166
CT · NTEE A99
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Barbara Alexander, Executive Director / CEO ($74,366) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 79 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 86th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Barbara Alexander — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

79 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 79 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$754 total compensation of comparable organizations → $109,520 $74,366
$10,87610th
$27,82525th
$48,588Median
$64,73275th
$74,89090th
$74,366This org · 86th
p10$10,876
p25$27,825
p50$48,588
p75$64,732
p90$74,890
$74,366

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 CT 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
Compass Rose Theater Inc MD$245,776 Executive Di $62,500 $60,532 2024
Territory Nfp IL$249,132 Executive Director $66,221 $67,443 2024
Denver Architecture Foundation CO$253,046 Executive Dir. $66,975 $68,494 2023
Mariachi Womens Foundation CA$253,146 Executive Dir. $50,000 $46,048 2023
Ssj Inc OR$254,528 Executive Dir. $66,600 $65,964 2023
Bailey Foundation MO$255,540 Executive Director $44,880 $50,698 2023
Wendys Subway Inc NY$235,887 President $805 $754 2024
Sacred Lands Conservancy WA$258,606 President $16,800 $15,582 2024
National Basketry Organization Inc MA$232,603 President $1,035 $992 2023
Art Camp 504 LA$262,363 Executive Director $51,150 $58,348 2024
Blindspot Collective CA$229,118 Director $21,925 $20,192 2023
Studio 395 Foundation CA$265,130 Ceo $39,520 $35,352 2024
Education & Community CO$228,000 Executive Director $52,500 $53,691 2023
Love Bldg Incorporated MI$268,289 Executive Director 18 Million Rising $11,004 $12,114 2023
Center Stage Inc MS$269,178 Artistic Director $33,034 $37,131 2025
Southern Shakespeare Company FL$269,432 Executive Director $41,082 $39,980 2024
On Our Own Of Roanoke Valley Inc VA$269,820 Exec Director $56,423 $56,437 2024
Teen Start Program OH$270,544 Greathouse $10,367 $11,711 2023
Create Wisconsin Inc WI$270,848 Executive Dir. $61,667 $66,718 2024
Korea Creative Content Agency Inc NY$271,047 President $11,950 $11,186 2024
Wisdom Circles Oceania HI$222,230 Executive Director $41,960 $40,067 2023
Firehouse Projects CA$220,000 Director $75,000 $69,072 2023
5p Society CA$219,370 Executive Vp $50,000 $44,727 2024
Artists Image Resource Inc PA$218,967 Board Member & Executive D $52,000 $53,720 2024
Wi Fairs Inc WI$274,828 Executive Di $33,000 $35,702 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CT 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 CT 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 default86th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)86th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted86th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted84th

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 (Barbara Alexander) 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 79 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $74,366 is reasonable (approximately the 86th 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.