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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Appian Media Resources Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 812678008
IN · NTEE A31
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Stuart Peck, Executive Director / CEO ($22,291) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 54 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 22nd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Stuart Peck — reported title “PRESIDENT/SE”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

54 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 54 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,468 total compensation of comparable organizations → $185,774 $22,291
$6,99410th
$24,17625th
$44,961Median
$68,28075th
$95,37690th
$22,291This org · 22nd
p10$6,994
p25$24,176
p50$44,961
p75$68,280
p90$95,376
$22,291

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 IN 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
Mezcla Media Collective Ltd IL$225,813 Executive Dir. $38,400 $34,771 2024
Hasan History Arts And Science Action VA$227,178 Co-president $11,000 $10,071 2023
Filmmakers United CA$221,196 President $44,780 $35,615 2024
Reel Earth Films AZ$230,403 Executive Director $26,143 $23,842 2023
The Lighthouse International Film NY$216,662 Director $8,000 $6,658 2024
San Francisco Independent Film Festival CA$216,359 Director $40,000 $31,813 2024
Black Photographers Union CA$216,115 President $9,500 $7,779 2023
Capital City Film Festival MI$237,471 Executive Di $1,500 $1,468 2023
Monterey County Film Commission CA$238,200 Film Commissioner $92,898 $76,067 2023
The New American Cinema Group Inc NY$212,460 Executive Director $34,849 $29,861 2023
San Francisco Cinematheque CA$209,336 Exec. Dir./dir. $76,286 $60,673 2024
National Center For Jewish Film Inc MA$242,373 Co Director $95,000 $80,952 2023
Hollywood In Pixels Inc CA$243,170 President/chair $8,300 $6,601 2024
Artrageous IN$206,973 President $32,400 $31,470 2024
Worldwide Documentaries Inc NY$204,492 President $30,000 $25,706 2023
Myth Media OR$247,747 Executive Dir $28,182 $23,484 2025
Women Photographers International Archive Inc FL$248,525 President $50,010 $43,272 2024
Cinestudio Inc CT$200,722 Executive Dir. $76,443 $67,966 2023
Make Your Mark Media Inc MD$251,060 Employee $125,700 $111,438 2023
Narrative Alchemy OR$200,000 Officer Manager $25,500 $21,811 2024
Cinema Tropical Inc NY$252,198 Dir/officer $89,000 $72,164 2025
Screamfest Horror Film Festival CA$253,413 Co-director $41,600 $34,063 2023
Eastland Fine Arts Association TX$254,741 Coo $53,247 $50,508 2023
Clarity Educational Productions Inc CA$256,270 President $90,000 $73,694 2023
Beloit Intl Film Festival Inc WI$193,867 Executive Director $51,000 $49,058 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IN 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 IN 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 default22nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)20th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted22nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted22nd

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 (Stuart Peck) 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 54 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A31), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $22,291 is reasonable (approximately the 22nd 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.