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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 830499281
PA · NTEE A69
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jeri Lynne Johnson, Executive Director / CEO ($112,482) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 81 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 100th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

Benchmarked executive: Jeri Lynne Johnson — reported title “President”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

81 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 81 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$588 total compensation of comparable organizations → $111,156 $112,482
$23,46410th
$41,00325th
$55,495Median
$70,43575th
$85,71990th
$112,482This org · 100th
p10$23,464
p25$41,003
p50$55,495
p75$70,435
p90$85,719
$112,482

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 PA 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 Orchestra & Community Choral NV$414,291 Executiveartistic Director $82,532 $82,957 2024
Idaho State Civic Symphony ID$409,838 Executive Di $551 $588 2024
The Discovery Orchestra Inc NJ$408,264 Executive Director $99,157 $86,488 2025
New England Symphonic Ensemble Inc MD$407,567 President $23,100 $22,296 2023
Oregon Symphony Association In Salem OR$424,281 President $24,474 $23,464 2023
Bridge Leadership Academy MO$426,622 Ceo $83,667 $91,486 2023
Citymusic Cleveland Inc OH$430,152 Executive Director $75,000 $82,009 2023
Tuscaloosa Symphony Association Inc AL$432,019 Executive Director $69,652 $77,685 2023
Skagit Symphony WA$398,201 Executive Director $50,589 $45,418 2024
Westchester Philharmonic Inc NY$394,271 Executive & Artistic Director $96,544 $90,066 2023
Lagrange Symphony Orchestra Inc GA$437,714 Executive Di $60,000 $60,496 2024
Huntington Symphony Orchestra WV$437,997 Executive Di $47,500 $51,573 2024
Carolina Youth Symphony SC$392,246 Executive Dir. $28,119 $30,286 2023
Aiken Symphony Orchestra SC$446,451 Executive Director $37,156 $37,868 2025
Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra MI$378,879 Executive Director $38,958 $41,514 2023
Orchestra Miami Inc FL$452,261 Artistic/exec D $18,000 $16,957 2024
National Symphony Orch Assn Of Washington Dc DC$455,325 Executive Director $8,827 $7,767 2024
Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra Inc VA$373,877 Executive Director $36,593 $35,430 2024
Bismarck-mandan Orchestral Association ND$371,459 Board Member/ Music Direct $64,006 $70,435 2024
Yarnwire Inc NY$371,254 Executive Director $66,350 $60,122 2024
Heartland Festival Orchestra IL$366,821 Trustee $86,950 $85,719 2024
Eureka Symphony CA$366,053 Artistic Director/conductor $40,000 $33,743 2025
The Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra Inc CT$365,834 Executive Director $60,000 $56,413 2024
Chamber Orchestra Of New York NY$364,933 Music Director $52,500 $47,572 2024
Cayuga Chamber Orchestra Inc NY$467,713 Executive Director $56,860 $51,523 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to PA 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 PA 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 default100th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)96th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted99th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted98th

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 (Jeri Lynne Johnson) 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 81 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A69), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $112,482 is reasonable (approximately the 100th 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.