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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Sweetwater Music Hall Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 851994102
CA · NTEE A68
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Maria Hoppe, Executive Director / CEO ($68,454) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 21 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 76th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Maria Hoppe — reported title “Executive Dir.”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

21 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 21 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$971 total compensation of comparable organizations → $102,959 $68,454
$6,75510th
$36,90525th
$42,738Median
$67,09375th
$90,41790th
$68,454This org · 76th
p10$6,755
p25$36,905
p50$42,738
p75$67,093
p90$90,417
$68,454

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 CA 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 Youth Symphony Orchestra CA$293,994 President And Program Director $102,000 $102,000 2023
Envelop CA$267,859 Executive Dir. $106,000 $102,959 2024
Music City Artist Development CA$267,297 Executive Director $6,955 $6,755 2024
Music In Place CA$258,414 Mkting Adm Off. $39,708 $38,569 2024
United States Open Music Competition CA$318,411 President $1,000 $971 2024
Music Heals International CA$245,634 Founder/exec $44,550 $43,272 2024
Braver Players Musical Theater Foundation CA$326,173 President $50,000 $48,566 2024
Music At Kohl Mansion Inc CA$336,836 Exec. Dir. $90,417 $90,417 2023
Taiko Community Alliance CA$224,568 Executive Director $38,967 $37,849 2024
Piano Spheres CA$222,590 Executive Director $39,000 $36,905 2025
Hausmann Quartet Foundation CA$221,963 President $25,917 $25,173 2024
Jacarandamusic CA$347,407 Artistic & E $48,000 $46,623 2024
Camarada Inc CA$356,020 Executive Director $72,750 $68,841 2025
International Horn Society CA$199,373 Executive Director $44,000 $42,738 2024
Take Me To The River Education CA$368,685 Board Member $37,500 $37,500 2023
Chamber Music Monterey Bay CA$373,584 Operations Manager $69,075 $67,093 2024
Global Arts Corporation CA$380,948 Ceo $63,009 $61,201 2024
Little Village Foundation CA$392,844 Executive Director $86,000 $86,000 2023
Redtone Records CA$395,896 Ed/pres/boar $14,230 $14,230 2023
Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra CA$405,189 President $40,000 $40,000 2023
Jazz At The Ballroom Inc CA$416,145 Executive Direc $2,414 $2,414 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA 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 CA 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 default76th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)71st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted76th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted76th

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 (Maria Hoppe) 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 21 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A68) + CA + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $68,454 is reasonable (approximately the 76th 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.