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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Stemarts Lab

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 850798517
NM · NTEE A25
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Agnes Chavez, Executive Director / CEO ($37,507) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 133 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 47th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Agnes Chavez — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

133 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 133 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$143 total compensation of comparable organizations → $127,716 $37,507
$7,98310th
$23,37125th
$41,852Median
$57,50075th
$72,14890th
$37,507This org · 47th
p10$7,983
p25$23,371
p50$41,852
p75$57,500
p90$72,148
$37,507

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 NM 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
Compass Arts Creativity Project Inc NY$244,567 Executive Director, Secretary $56,109 $47,140 2024
North Fourth Art Center NM$247,942 Executive Dir. $67,964 $69,971 2023
Girls Rock Charlotte NC$248,411 Executive Dir. $30,630 $30,295 2023
Art Access UT$248,757 Executive Director $72,081 $68,591 2024
Destination Art CA$237,453 Treasurer $4,428 $3,660 2023
Active Cultures CA$249,844 Executive Director $74,250 $59,611 2024
The Peacock Players Inc NH$250,630 Executive Di $61,154 $52,501 2024
B H Foxy Foundation Inc CA$235,814 Chair/executive Director $55,708 $44,725 2024
Kalamazoo Book Arts Center MI$251,216 Director $40,000 $37,397 2025
Belvedere Series VA$254,087 Artistic Director $33,000 $28,861 2025
Be Frank Foundation CO$255,229 Managing Director $69,420 $63,717 2023
Los Angeles Theatre Academy Inc CA$231,447 Executive Dir. $20,310 $16,787 2023
Emerald Coast Honors Orchestra Foundation Inc FL$256,242 Secretary $3,900 $3,507 2023
Bob Mizer Foundation CA$256,316 President $48,800 $39,179 2024
Amp Up Arts AL$230,440 Executive Di $16,293 $16,365 2024
Cincinnati Music & Wellness Coalition OH$230,257 Ceo $50,000 $49,237 2024
The Institute For Art And Olfaction CA$257,075 Executive Director $43,650 $36,079 2023
Hamilton-garrett Music And Arts Academy Inc MA$229,235 Executive Director $87,447 $73,061 2024
Miano Academy Of Art Inc FL$257,897 President Non Voting Member $68,771 $60,067 2024
Southwest Judges Network CA$228,462 Vice President $1,000 $782 2025
Borealis Art Guild MN$259,168 Director $8,000 $7,566 2023
Light Industry Cinema Projects Ltd NY$226,957 Director $30,050 $25,246 2024
Blackstone Valley Music And Performing Arts Collab MA$226,728 President $17,348 $14,121 2025
Photography Without Borders Inc PA$260,386 Executive Di $83,559 $79,762 2023
Greenwich Art Society Inc CT$260,507 President, Managing Direct $56,260 $49,044 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NM 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 NM 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 default47th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)42nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted49th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted44th

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 (Agnes Chavez) 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 133 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A25), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $37,507 is reasonable (approximately the 47th 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.