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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Park Theater Foundation Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 834556421
NY · NTEE A19
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Christopher Ristau, Executive Director / CEO ($55,015) against the 2000 closest of 2,642 comparable organizations — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 62nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

2,642 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 2,000 within the band form the benchmarked peer set (closest by budget).

Distribution of comparable compensation

$23 total compensation of comparable organizations → $317,106 $55,015
$8,13910th
$23,33725th
$44,770Median
$66,21975th
$86,47490th
$55,015This org · 62nd
p10$8,139
p25$23,337
p50$44,770
p75$66,219
p90$86,474
$55,015

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
Camden Shipyard Maritime Museum NJ$247,017 Executive Director $32,917 $32,524 2024
Shoreline Arts Alliance Inc CT$246,862 Ceo/executiv $172,714 $174,590 2025
Delgani String Quartet OR$247,107 Executive Director $39,600 $40,697 2024
Arts In Ct CT$246,837 Executive Di $74,366 $79,442 2023
Douglas County Youth Orchestra Inc CO$246,704 Director $44,136 $45,627 2025
Tres Doux Foundation LA$247,275 Executive Director $63,000 $76,770 2024
Augustana Arts Inc CO$247,305 Executive Director $68,750 $71,073 2025
Community Media Of The Foothills CA$246,617 Executive Dir. $66,620 $65,542 2023
Young Chamber Musicians Inc CA$246,549 President $5,040 $4,692 2025
Menddigap Inc NY$247,501 President & Director $5,230 $5,384 2023
Italingua Institute CA$246,445 President $78,452 $77,182 2023
West Des Moines Historical Society IA$247,603 Executive Di $52,986 $64,204 2024
The Sunshine Center Inc NY$246,329 Ceo/secretar $42,750 $42,750 2024
Torch Literary Arts TX$247,648 Executive Director $74,750 $85,192 2023
Associated Artists Of Pittsburgh PA$246,204 Executive Director $72,877 $82,802 2023
Myth Media OR$247,747 Executive Dir $28,182 $28,216 2025
Asheville Music School Sound Education NC$247,759 Ex Officio $43,403 $48,350 2025
Campbell Learning Center Inc TX$246,185 Director $58,994 $67,236 2023
The Insect Asylum Inc IL$246,169 Executive Director $12,930 $14,067 2024
Black Hills Symphony Orchestra Society SD$246,108 Executive Director $33,099 $39,383 2025
North Fourth Art Center NM$247,942 Executive Dir. $67,964 $83,284 2023
The Catamounts Nfp CO$245,928 Artistic Director $26,725 $28,359 2024
Clayart Guild Of The Hamptons Inc NY$245,843 Trustee $3,200 $3,200 2024
Poetry Society Of New York Inc NY$248,150 Chair, Treasurer & C.e.o. $48,700 $48,700 2024
Compass Rose Theater Inc MD$245,776 Executive Di $62,500 $64,663 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 default62nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)68th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted62nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted60th

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 (Christopher Ristau) 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 2000 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (A), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $55,015 is reasonable (approximately the 62nd 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.