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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Circo Zero

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 821254716
CA · NTEE A62
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Keith Hennessy, Executive Director / CEO ($46,100) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 21 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 76th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Keith Hennessy — reported title “ARTISTIC DIRECTOR/TREASURER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

21 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 21 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,700 total compensation of comparable organizations → $65,462 $46,100
$7,41310th
$17,26225th
$23,000Median
$45,04275th
$52,41390th
$46,100This org · 76th
p10$7,413
p25$17,262
p50$23,000
p75$45,042
p90$52,413
$46,100

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
Brockus Project Dance Company CA$255,450 President $50,532 $52,025 2023
Contact Arts CA$244,950 Executive Dir. $18,786 $19,341 2023
Encinitas Ballet Academy And Arts Center CA$234,736 Ceo, Artistic Director $43,750 $45,042 2023
The Mahea Uchiyama Center For CA$272,731 Director $65,462 $65,462 2024
Sjdanceco CA$232,074 Artistic Director & Founder $7,200 $7,413 2023
Blue 13 Dance Company Inc CA$232,003 Executive Director $18,708 $18,708 2024
Soul To Sole Choreography CA$276,490 Secretary $26,316 $26,316 2024
Stockton Folk Dance Camp CA$229,159 Director $2,700 $2,700 2024
The Arte Flamenco Dance Theatre Inc CA$227,916 President $24,814 $25,547 2023
Namah Ensemble Inc CA$223,420 Director/pre $23,000 $23,000 2024
Abhinaya Dance Company Of San Jose CA$286,824 Secretary $7,500 $7,722 2023
The High Steppers Drill Team Inc CA$302,799 President $53,800 $52,413 2025
Nca Dance Studio CA$188,340 Director $4,421 $4,552 2023
Calidanza Dance Company CA$185,250 C/o $18,575 $18,575 2024
Friends Of Olympia Station Inc CA$324,338 Executive Dir. $60,000 $58,453 2025
Santa Barbara Festival Ballet CA$326,642 Conservatory Director $17,262 $17,262 2024
Robert Moses Kin CA$333,756 Artistic Dir. $10,868 $10,588 2025
Jess Curtisgravity Inc CA$341,407 Director/exec. Dir. (Starting Mar.) $47,535 $47,535 2024
Lake Tahoe Dance Collective CA$344,486 Exec/artist Dir $28,667 $28,667 2024
Flyaway Productions CA$360,501 Director $40,241 $40,241 2024
Motion Pacific Dance Inc CA$365,970 President $17,955 $17,955 2024

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 default76th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)76th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted76th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted76th

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 (Keith Hennessy) 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 21 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A62) + CA + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $46,100 is reasonable (approximately the 76th 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.