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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Merely Players

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 841443379
CO · NTEE A65
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Diane Panelli, Executive Director / CEO ($1,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 306 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 1st percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Diane Panelli — reported title “Member”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

306 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 306 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$723 total compensation of comparable organizations → $137,838 $1,000
$9,91410th
$24,96225th
$43,092Median
$60,21275th
$74,61890th
$1,000This org · 1st
p10$9,914
p25$24,962
p50$43,092
p75$60,212
p90$74,618
$1,000

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
Los Angeles Theatresports CA$333,547 Board Member $780 $723 2023
Theatre With A Twist Inc MA$333,118 Director $43,569 $40,831 2024
Kidz Konnection Inc CT$333,085 President $50,833 $48,425 2025
North Carolina Theatre Conference NC$334,224 Executive Director $108,150 $113,536 2025
Musical Youth Artist Repertory Theatre CA$332,871 President $75,955 $70,421 2023
Germantown Community Theatre Inc TN$332,841 Executive Director $53,420 $57,050 2025
Fairbanks Drama Association AK$334,859 Executive Director $86,120 $83,653 2025
Chicago Latino Theater Alliance IL$335,630 Executive Di $113,866 $113,735 2025
Playpenn Inc PA$331,512 Artistic Dir $88,952 $92,510 2024
Theatre Rhinoceros Inc CA$336,121 Executive Dir. $78,500 $68,870 2025
Umpqua Actors Community Theatre OR$331,066 Executive Director $64,477 $62,445 2024
Master Arts Theatre MI$331,057 Artistic Dir $37,693 $40,574 2024
Longview Act TX$330,966 Executive Director $60,108 $62,705 2024
The Paper Bag Players Inc NY$336,631 Executive Di $20,576 $19,390 2024
Childrens Musical Theatreworks Inc CA$336,869 Executive Dir. $12,000 $10,806 2024
Theatre Puget Sound WA$337,152 Executive Director $83,160 $79,940 2023
Acting Out Theater Company Inc MA$337,474 President/tr $39,000 $36,549 2024
Mile High Youth Theatre Inc CO$337,898 Executive Director $55,042 $53,623 2025
Glass Half Full Theatre TX$338,468 Co-producing Artistic Director $42,696 $44,541 2024
Jean Shelton Foundation CA$338,712 Executive Director $15,000 $13,508 2024
Coho Productions Inc OR$327,779 Managing Dir $40,000 $38,739 2024
The Winterset Iowa Theater IA$340,600 President $5,000 $5,709 2024
30 By Ninety Theatre Inc LA$341,146 Treasurer $36,000 $41,341 2024
Redtwist Theatre IL$342,425 Artist Director $14,805 $15,179 2024
Theatre Forty CA$343,128 Secretary $61,354 $53,828 2025

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 default1st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)1st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted2nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted1st

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 (Diane Panelli) 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 306 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A65), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $1,000 is reasonable (approximately the 1st 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.