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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Hope Creates

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 821130017
MO · NTEE A20
FY ending 2024-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Katherine Thomas-dietz, Executive Director / CEO ($60,005) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 318 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 67th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Katherine Thomas-dietz — reported title “Executive Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

318 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 318 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$266 total compensation of comparable organizations → $136,128 $60,005
$10,24610th
$28,35525th
$48,565Median
$65,60375th
$78,88490th
$60,005This org · 67th
p10$10,246
p25$28,355
p50$48,565
p75$65,603
p90$78,884
$60,005

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 MO 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 Community Festival OH$345,764 Treasurer $3,000 $3,089 2023
Ludington Area Arts Council MI$347,252 Executive Director $64,967 $65,182 2023
Give Music Inc MA$347,415 President $33,800 $27,938 2025
Pharos The International Photo Archives Association NY$343,867 Executive Director $33,405 $29,342 2023
In A Perfect World CA$347,735 Founder/pres $96,320 $78,527 2024
Do It For The Love CA$348,176 Executive Director $109,774 $89,496 2024
Babes Fest Inc TX$343,025 Founding Executive Director $57,600 $56,007 2023
Plataforma Eje Inc PR$342,888 Executive Director $28,154 $28,154 2024
American Impressionist Society Inc NE$342,717 Treasurer $7,796 $7,917 2024
Augusta Westobou Festival Inc GA$342,121 Executive Director $65,100 $61,801 2024
Juan De Fuca Festival Of The Arts Inc WA$349,530 Executive Director $62,976 $53,234 2024
Cheltenham Township Art Centre PA$341,383 Ex. Director $50,000 $47,077 2024
Castroville Artichoke Festival Inc CA$341,383 Executive Di $42,405 $34,572 2024
The Black School Inc LA$339,733 President $80,000 $85,628 2023
Public Space One IA$339,159 Executive Director $30,000 $31,929 2023
Fu Xing College CA$339,136 Ceo $43,000 $34,154 2025
Wide Open Walls CA$352,334 President $72,000 $60,434 2023
Knotty Luxe Arts Foundation IL$338,670 President $79,333 $75,813 2023
St Johns County Center For The FL$338,654 Director $300 $266 2024
Bailey's Cafe Inc NY$353,023 Executive Di $18,750 $16,469 2023
Kik Ka'eaikahelelani Inc HI$338,083 President $17,000 $14,370 2024
Mitchell Street Arts Collaborative Incorporated WI$337,644 Executive Director $33,860 $34,373 2023
The Association For Cultural Equity Inc NY$337,589 Executive Director $68,436 $58,387 2024
Deaf Spotlight WA$353,939 Executive Di $84,739 $71,630 2024
Inwood Art Works Inc NY$353,982 Chairman $55,000 $48,310 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MO 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 MO 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 default67th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)60th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted68th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted66th

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 (Katherine Thomas-dietz) 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 318 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $60,005 is reasonable (approximately the 67th 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.