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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Colorado New Play Festival

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 823478207
CO · NTEE A65
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Colt Neidhardt, Executive Director / CEO ($43,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 240 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 66th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

240 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 240 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$723 total compensation of comparable organizations → $113,735 $43,000
$4,74310th
$14,59325th
$31,987Median
$49,62675th
$63,72390th
$43,000This org · 66th
p10$4,743
p25$14,593
p50$31,987
p75$49,626
p90$63,723
$43,000

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 CO 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
Full Circle Theater Company MN$223,986 Managing Director $40,700 $40,860 2025
Studio Theatre Inc AR$223,946 Executive Director $31,719 $37,183 2024
Ffx Ministries Inc VA$224,410 Production Manager $20,905 $21,672 2023
Longmont Theatre Company Inc CO$225,189 Director $5,103 $5,254 2023
Latinx Playwrights Circle Inc NY$222,247 President $4,355 $3,999 2025
Shakespeare In Detroit MI$226,090 Officer $35,000 $38,788 2023
Lobster Theater Project CA$221,947 Executive Dir. $60,708 $54,670 2024
The Stage Oconee Inc GA$221,389 Executive Director $9,975 $10,769 2023
Shelby County Community Theatre Inc KY$227,114 Executive Di $15,000 $16,373 2025
Northern California Dance Collective CA$220,351 Treasurer $1,550 $1,396 2024
Shake On The Lake Inc NY$227,871 Director $20,200 $19,036 2024
Community Players Inc NE$220,307 Executive Di $47,000 $52,719 2024
Grand Theatre Of Oelwein Inc IA$219,679 Treasurer $25,760 $31,525 2022
She Nyc Arts Inc NY$218,793 Artistic Executive Director $4,000 $3,881 2023
Expats Theatre DC$229,766 Artistic Director $54,000 $49,419 2024
Stageworx Co KS$218,008 President $18,884 $21,276 2024
Vivid Stage Inc NJ$217,741 Artistic Director $30,000 $27,214 2025
The American Friends Of The Almeida NY$230,773 Secretary $5,170 $4,747 2025
Storytelling Arts Of Indiana Inc IN$230,989 Executive Dir $12,500 $13,747 2024
Vail Performing Arts Academy CO$231,704 Director $72,009 $74,136 2023
South Park Theatre Inc PA$231,848 Executive Director $36,000 $37,440 2024
Towle Performing Arts Company IN$232,013 Executive Director $56,467 $62,101 2024
Trademark Theater MN$215,463 Founder/artistic Director $23,493 $23,585 2025
Staretthe Directors Company Inc NY$215,411 Executive Dir. $1,000 $971 2023
A Company Of Girls ME$232,912 Executive Director $51,755 $54,047 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CO 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 CO 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 default66th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)66th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted66th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted65th

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 (Colt Neidhardt) 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 240 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A65), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $43,000 is reasonable (approximately the 66th 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.