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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Composers Now Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 812244711
NY · NTEE A68
FY ending 2024-09-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Tania J Leon, Executive Director / CEO ($34,275) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 59 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 47th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Tania J Leon — reported title “Board Chair Artistic Director”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

59 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 59 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,175 total compensation of comparable organizations → $166,286 $34,275
$9,29510th
$16,42325th
$38,687Median
$50,15575th
$72,38590th
$34,275This org · 47th
p10$9,295
p25$16,423
p50$38,687
p75$50,155
p90$72,385
$34,275

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 NY 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
Songs Of Solomon An Inspirational Ensemble Inc NY$146,131 President $24,412 $25,133 2023
York County Honors Choirs Inc PA$137,484 Executive Director $26,000 $28,693 2024
Detroit Performing Artists Inc MI$153,760 Executive Di $21,186 $24,915 2023
Alleghany Jam NC$155,028 Executive Director $53,791 $59,922 2025
William Lewis School Of Opera TX$135,149 Vice President $36,000 $39,852 2024
C'est Bon Music Inc CA$156,557 Ceo $14,300 $13,665 2024
One Heart Beat Inc GA$156,857 Co-founder & Executive Dir $50,000 $55,636 2024
Seasun Theatre Artist Group CA$157,161 Director $6,940 $6,828 2023
Korea Music Foundation Inc NY$132,970 President $3,000 $3,089 2023
Alice And Eleonore Schoenfeld CA$132,945 Ceo $60,000 $57,336 2024
Cleveland Rocks Past Present And Future OH$159,775 Key Employee $15,600 $18,825 2023
Bach Aria Soloists Inc MO$160,884 Executive Artistic Director $58,099 $70,110 2023
Musiconnects Inc MA$128,066 Executive Di $65,000 $62,974 2025
The Classical Saxophone Project Inc NY$128,004 President $27,500 $27,500 2024
Oil Region Music Preservation Museum PA$162,981 Director $42,000 $46,351 2024
Beale Street Caravan Inc TN$163,951 Exec. Dir. $48,750 $58,383 2023
International Association Of Music Libraries Archives &Documentation WI$164,970 Secretary General $2,165 $2,502 2024
Camfel Productions Inc CA$166,635 President $53,677 $51,293 2024
St Marys Music Academy NC$170,173 Director $33,000 $37,734 2024
Tunefoolery Music Inc MA$170,482 Sec. (From 11/2024) (Treas. Prior)/co-exec. Dir. $13,060 $12,652 2025
Women In The Arts Inc National Womens IL$170,731 President $2,800 $3,137 2023
The Coleman Chamber Music Association CA$171,101 Executive Director $85,273 $81,486 2024
Indexical Inc CA$171,200 Executive Di $48,954 $46,780 2024
Texas Early Music Project TX$172,531 Artistic Director $24,550 $31,459 2021
Laguna Beach Live CA$174,133 Ceo $42,000 $40,135 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY 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 NY 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 default47th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)47th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted47th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted46th

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 (Tania J Leon) 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 59 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A68), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $34,275 is reasonable (approximately the 47th 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.