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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Digs Chicago

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 853163773
IL · NTEE A40
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Zoe Minzenberger, Executive Director / CEO ($47,530) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 59 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 41st percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Zoe Minzenberger — 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

59 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 59 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$21 total compensation of comparable organizations → $100,563 $47,530
$9,73810th
$22,81025th
$53,542Median
$70,56575th
$80,53090th
$47,530This org · 41st
p10$9,738
p25$22,810
p50$53,542
p75$70,565
p90$80,530
$47,530

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 IL 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
The Artist Book Foundation MA$269,033 Executive Director $30,585 $27,956 2024
Cambridge Art Association MA$270,126 Executive Director $85,169 $77,849 2024
Art Saint Louis MO$270,260 Executive Director $20,184 $22,387 2023
Manhattan Graphics Center Inc NY$271,886 Board Member $5,850 $5,536 2023
Sacramento Master Singers CA$250,238 Artistic Director $24,750 $22,381 2023
Associated Artists Of Pittsburgh PA$246,204 Executive Director $72,877 $76,107 2023
Clayart Guild Of The Hamptons Inc NY$245,843 Trustee $3,200 $2,941 2024
The Alliance For American Quilts Inc NC$243,639 Executive Director $75,868 $79,738 2024
Kansas City Artists Coalition MO$243,347 Executive Director $48,752 $54,074 2023
Lexington Art League Inc KY$239,202 Executive Director $56,100 $59,727 2025
Open Studios Inc CO$238,827 Executive Director $55,000 $55,229 2023
Vienna Arts Society Inc VA$235,835 Art Center D $15,000 $15,167 2023
Alchemy Art Center WA$292,178 Co-director $32,270 $30,256 2023
Maine Crafts Association ME$233,069 Executive Director $20 $21 2023
The Light Factory NC$294,949 Executive Di $46,442 $48,811 2024
Cuyahoga Valley Art Center OH$299,875 Executive Di $77,895 $83,920 2024
Stay Arts CA$300,980 Executive Director $35,229 $31,857 2023
The Sculpture Center OH$226,726 Executive Di $66,626 $73,899 2023
Mooresville Artist Guild NC$302,180 Executive Dir. $21,839 $22,953 2024
Martha's Vineyard Art Association MA$225,167 Gallery Dire $15,335 $14,431 2023
Gallery Route One CA$224,306 Executive Dir. $40,174 $35,286 2024
Filter Photo Nfp IL$224,054 Executive Director $35,338 $35,338 2024
Artlink Inc IN$219,091 Executive Dir. $61,908 $66,407 2024
Frontline Arts NJ$218,346 Fmr Ex Director $62,423 $56,691 2024
Octagon Center For The Arts IA$310,524 Executive Director $47,000 $50,997 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL 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 IL 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 default41st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)49th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted41st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted36th

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 (Zoe Minzenberger) 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 59 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A40), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $47,530 is reasonable (approximately the 41st 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.