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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

4 Elements Studio Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 834550059
NY · NTEE A51
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Dana Kelsey, Executive Director / CEO ($62,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 51 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 24th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Dana Kelsey — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

51 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 51 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$4 total compensation of comparable organizations → $186,007 $62,000
$14,07310th
$64,29725th
$77,456Median
$96,30475th
$108,57690th
$62,000This org · 24th
p10$14,073
p25$64,297
p50$77,456
p75$96,304
p90$108,576
$62,000

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 NY 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
Coos Art Museum OR$484,043 Executive Director $67,333 $69,198 2024
Quincy Art Center IL$484,086 Executive Director $64,913 $68,803 2025
Washington Project For The Arts Inc DC$487,921 Interim Executive Dir (Thru April) $52,404 $52,394 2023
Lowell Art Association MA$475,992 President $106,923 $106,330 2024
Visual Art Exchange NC$490,255 Executive Director $65,795 $77,456 2023
Coleman Center Board Of The City Of York AL$504,812 Executive Director $65,000 $77,711 2024
Arnot Art Museum NY$460,339 Trustee $4 $4 2023
Headley-whitney Museum Inc KY$507,659 Executive Dir. $68,462 $81,398 2024
Museum Of Neon Art CA$508,173 Executive Direc $64,625 $63,580 2023
Torrance Cultural Arts Center CA$457,647 Executive Director $101,435 $96,931 2024
Steamboat Art Museum CO$524,298 Executive Dir. $97,683 $103,656 2024
Owensboro Museum Of Fine Art Inc KY$525,604 President/director $81,036 $96,348 2024
Richmond Art Museum IN$528,388 Executive Director $117,660 $137,313 2024
Lagrange Art Museum Inc GA$422,931 Executive Di $65,473 $72,853 2024
Dashboard Co-op Inc GA$547,865 Executive Di $78,883 $90,367 2023
The Book Club Of California CA$548,575 Executive Di $194,650 $186,007 2024
Greenville Museum Of Art Inc NC$551,806 Executive Di $61,800 $68,845 2025
Mcrd Museum Historical Society CA$558,565 Executive Dir. $110,000 $105,115 2024
Art Museum Of Greater IN$565,307 Executive Di $42,615 $51,202 2023
Doral Contemporary Art Museum Inc FL$398,641 President $2,000 $2,079 2024
Holter Museum Of Art MT$569,414 Executive Dir. $5,385 $6,613 2023
Concrete Couch CO$396,632 Executive Director $60,000 $65,549 2023
North Carolina Pottery Museum Inc NC$394,862 Executive Director $68,195 $75,968 2025
Santa Paula Art Museum CA$394,622 Executive Di $99,274 $94,866 2024
Michelson Museum Of Art TX$388,017 Executive Dir. $53,900 $59,667 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY 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 NY 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 default24th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)29th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted27th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted22nd

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 (Dana Kelsey) 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 51 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A51), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $62,000 is reasonable (approximately the 24th 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.