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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Hickory Ballet And Performing Arts

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 823438309
NC · NTEE A60
FY ending 2023-07-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Leanna Bodnar, Executive Director / CEO ($27,100) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 154 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 31st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Leanna Bodnar — reported title “Executive Dir.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

154 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 154 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $101,511 $27,100
$10,22610th
$23,31725th
$40,102Median
$56,35375th
$67,31090th
$27,100This org · 31st
p10$10,226
p25$23,317
p50$40,102
p75$56,353
p90$67,310
$27,100

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 NC 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
Montavilla Jazz Festival OR$279,212 Executive Director $26,400 $23,047 2024
Melodic Movements Performing Arts Program Inc DE$276,768 President $49,600 $47,003 2023
Carpinteria Community Theater Inc CA$281,492 Executive Director $50,000 $40,587 2024
Santa Clara Valley Performing Arts Association CA$282,072 Artistic Director $20,000 $16,234 2024
Kid Pan Alley VA$273,708 Artistic & Executive Direc $64,466 $60,241 2023
Caldwell Fine Arts Series Inc ID$272,847 Director $47,429 $46,207 2025
Road Show Inc IL$272,738 Executive Director $42,220 $39,019 2024
The Oratorio Society Of Virginia VA$284,836 Executive Director $29,875 $26,417 2025
Royal Stage Christian Performing Arts CA$286,993 Executive Director $11,000 $9,193 2023
South Side Suzuki Cooperative IL$269,849 President & $67,648 $64,365 2023
Inspire Music Service Hope Inc AZ$288,484 Executive Director $24,000 $22,338 2023
Summertrios Inc NJ$268,459 Director Eme $2,800 $2,350 2024
Zionsville Showchoirs Inc IN$268,136 Co-exec. Director $9,000 $8,922 2024
Spotlight Performing Arts Center UT$266,526 President $60,000 $59,432 2023
Kulu Mele African Dance And Drum Ensemble PA$266,473 Executive Director $58,505 $54,845 2024
Theatre Nova MI$266,152 President $39,658 $39,616 2023
Everett RI$291,469 Co-artistic Director/treas $35,100 $32,573 2023
Columbus Music And Art Academy OH$265,672 Exec Directo $79,500 $79,154 2024
Encore Performing Arts UT$264,181 Executive Team $7,650 $7,361 2024
Death Of Classical Inc NY$293,171 Artistic Director $28,855 $24,511 2024
Contemporary Youth Orchestra OH$293,497 Executive Di $72,892 $74,718 2023
Baltimore Improv Group MD$293,707 Managing Director $50,000 $45,240 2023
Innovation Arts Academy Inc KY$262,338 Executive Director $18,000 $18,179 2024
Mountain Air Modern Dance MT$262,198 President And Executive Director $53,422 $54,133 2024
Danielandsomesuperfriends Inc NY$296,045 Ceo, Artistic Director $69,823 $57,782 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NC 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 NC 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 default31st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)28th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted32nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted31st

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 (Leanna Bodnar) 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 154 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A60), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $27,100 is reasonable (approximately the 31st 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.