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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Center For Austin Independent Journalism

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 841828337
TX · NTEE A99
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Andrew Wheat, Executive Director / CEO ($46,667) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 24 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 79th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Andrew Wheat — reported title “Board 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

24 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 24 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$637 total compensation of comparable organizations → $114,143 $46,667
$2,59710th
$6,08825th
$24,434Median
$43,24775th
$51,27390th
$46,667This org · 79th
p10$2,597
p25$6,088
p50$24,434
p75$43,247
p90$51,273
$46,667

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 TX 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
Decentered Arts CA$114,614 Treasurer $78,692 $67,930 2024
Susquehanna Museum Of Havre De MD$111,710 Executive Di $48,866 $45,671 2024
Art In The Atrium Inc NJ$110,017 Ceo $54,985 $49,078 2024
Alianta Inc DC$121,565 Chair $2,725 $2,461 2023
Gordon Education Initiatives For TX$123,161 Executive Di $30,170 $30,170 2024
Jamaica Plain Arts And Civic Center MA$127,606 Executive Director $709 $637 2024
Textile Society Of America Inc MD$101,200 Director At Large Communications $4,043 $3,890 2023
The Cappies Inc VA$99,934 Technology Officer/cfo $20,000 $19,875 2023
Suzuki Collaborative Of Cps OH$131,697 Executive Dir. $41,141 $42,439 2025
Indigenous Peoples' Day Philly PA$96,719 Cofounder, I $9,990 $10,253 2023
Dorland Mountain Arts Colony CA$139,902 Executive Dir. $18,517 $15,984 2024
Australian International Screen FL$89,964 Executive Director $121,541 $114,143 2024
Peaceweavers Inc NY$89,254 President $24,100 $21,771 2024
Sephardi Voices Usa Inc FL$86,014 President/tr $7,250 $6,809 2024
Spirit Of Harmony Foundation Inc IL$85,413 Executive Di $30,000 $29,484 2024
Cleveland Art Association OH$150,890 Director/secretary $3,705 $3,923 2024
Praising Earth Inc NM$152,879 President $25,200 $27,096 2024
Intersectional Arts Inc CA$153,831 President $3,375 $2,913 2024
Elios Charitable Foundation CA$155,069 Executive Dir. $58,750 $52,213 2023
The Warehouse Inc WI$158,144 Executive Di $32,400 $34,826 2023
Black Artistsdesigners Guildinc NY$161,061 Exeucitive Director $52,000 $46,974 2024
Foundation For Critical Thinking CA$163,391 President & Ceo $1,299 $1,121 2024
Arts Center At Killingworth Inc CT$163,927 Board Member / Trustee $7,852 $7,360 2024
Arthaus Inc IA$165,898 Director $38,499 $41,055 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to TX 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 TX 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 default79th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)75th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted79th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted75th

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 (Andrew Wheat) 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 24 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A99), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $46,667 is reasonable (approximately the 79th 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.