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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Spark

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 832550120
CO · NTEE A20
FY ending 2024-07-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dillon Kenyon, Executive Director / CEO ($12,190) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 319 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 11th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Dillon Kenyon — reported title “ED”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

319 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 319 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$294 total compensation of comparable organizations → $237,061 $12,190
$11,84510th
$32,57825th
$54,430Median
$73,92675th
$89,45690th
$12,190This org · 11th
p10$11,845
p25$32,578
p50$54,430
p75$73,926
p90$89,456
$12,190

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
Luma 8 IL$362,280 President $121,752 $124,830 2024
Roxy Bremerton WA$363,396 Executive Director $72,459 $67,655 2024
Camden Fireworks Incorporated NJ$363,657 Executive Director $62,414 $59,833 2023
Mid India Christian Mission FL$360,298 Executive Director $91,008 $91,795 2023
Legends Do Live TX$364,008 Director $27,083 $28,253 2024
Summit Artspace OH$359,966 Executive Di $69,197 $78,691 2023
Carpe Diem Arts Inc MD$364,301 Executive Director (Thru 8/3/25) $50,000 $47,493 2025
Space On The Farminc NY$359,689 Executive Director (Left 2024) $70,750 $66,673 2024
New City Arts Initiative VA$364,446 Executive Director $83,276 $81,693 2025
The Brooklyn Steppers Inc NY$359,620 Executive Director $41,500 $38,100 2025
The Summer Solstice Celebration Inc CA$358,935 Executive Dir. $60,000 $54,032 2024
Allied Arts Association WA$356,635 Scholarships $7,560 $7,059 2024
Sage Studio & Gallery TX$367,809 President $65,292 $70,126 2023
Herencia Mariachi Academy CA$355,883 Instructor $80,458 $72,455 2024
We Players CA$368,436 Artistic Director $55,000 $49,529 2024
Root Cause Research Center Inc KY$355,460 President $23,999 $26,889 2024
Coalition For African Americans In The Performing Arts MD$355,440 Executive Director $30,000 $30,114 2023
Diaspora Arts Connection Inc CA$368,688 Executive Dir. $6,310 $5,682 2024
Nars Foundation Inc NY$355,287 Founding Director $43,002 $41,721 2023
Stecoah Valley Arts Crafts & NC$369,110 Executive Di $47,020 $49,362 2025
Beta-local Inc PR$369,234 Co-director $30,000 $30,886 2023
Handmade Arcade PA$369,502 Executive Director $64,500 $67,080 2024
Danzantes Unidos De California CA$369,632 Executive Director $50,000 $43,866 2025
Inwood Art Works Inc NY$353,982 Chairman $55,000 $53,362 2023
Deaf Spotlight WA$353,939 Executive Di $84,739 $79,121 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 default11th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)12th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted12th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted10th

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 (Dillon Kenyon) 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 319 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $12,190 is reasonable (approximately the 11th 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.