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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Vail Performing Arts Academy

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 841472671
CO · NTEE A650
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Colin Meiring, Executive Director / CEO ($72,009) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 251 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 95th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

251 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 251 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$702 total compensation of comparable organizations → $110,472 $72,009
$4,84110th
$14,69525th
$33,901Median
$49,19975th
$61,85890th
$72,009This org · 95th
p10$4,841
p25$14,695
p50$33,901
p75$49,199
p90$61,858
$72,009

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
South Park Theatre Inc PA$231,848 Executive Director $36,000 $36,366 2024
Towle Performing Arts Company IN$232,013 Executive Director $56,467 $60,320 2024
Storytelling Arts Of Indiana Inc IN$230,989 Executive Dir $12,500 $13,352 2024
The American Friends Of The Almeida NY$230,773 Secretary $5,170 $4,610 2025
A Company Of Girls ME$232,912 Executive Director $51,755 $52,496 2024
Expats Theatre DC$229,766 Artistic Director $54,000 $48,001 2024
Rover Dramawerks TX$234,222 Executive Director $19,000 $19,252 2024
Shake On The Lake Inc NY$227,871 Director $20,200 $18,489 2024
Roanoke Childrens Theatre Inc VA$235,675 Executive Dir. $4,950 $4,841 2024
Shelby County Community Theatre Inc KY$227,114 Executive Di $15,000 $15,904 2025
Pipeline Theatre Company Inc NY$236,519 Artist Trustee $10,122 $9,026 2025
Le Chat Noir Inc GA$236,621 Secretary $40,000 $41,944 2023
Looking For Lilith KY$237,210 Co-artistic Director $23,142 $24,537 2025
Shakespeare In Detroit MI$226,090 Officer $35,000 $37,675 2023
Act Out Theatre Company CA$237,977 Executive Director $51,923 $45,417 2024
Exposed Brick Theatre MN$238,127 Co-artistic Director $55,000 $56,677 2023
Longmont Theatre Company Inc CO$225,189 Director $5,103 $5,103 2023
Ffx Ministries Inc VA$224,410 Production Manager $20,905 $21,050 2023
Colorado New Play Festival CO$224,108 Executive Dir. $43,000 $41,766 2024
Full Circle Theater Company MN$223,986 Managing Director $40,700 $39,687 2025
Studio Theatre Inc AR$223,946 Executive Director $31,719 $36,116 2024
Latinx Playwrights Circle Inc NY$222,247 President $4,355 $3,884 2025
Lobster Theater Project CA$221,947 Executive Dir. $60,708 $53,101 2024
The Stage Oconee Inc GA$221,389 Executive Director $9,975 $10,460 2023
Northern California Dance Collective CA$220,351 Treasurer $1,550 $1,356 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 2023 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 default95th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)94th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted96th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted95th

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 (Colin Meiring) 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 251 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A65), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $72,009 is reasonable (approximately the 95th 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.