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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Spotlight Youth Theatre

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 861115452
AZ · NTEE A65
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Debra Czajkowski, Executive Director / CEO ($11,050) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 326 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 11th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Debra Czajkowski — reported title “MANAGING DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

326 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 326 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$700 total compensation of comparable organizations → $133,487 $11,050
$10,42310th
$26,05825th
$44,186Median
$60,40475th
$74,29990th
$11,050This org · 11th
p10$10,423
p25$26,058
p50$44,186
p75$60,404
p90$74,299
$11,050

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 AZ 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
Summit Theatre Group MO$369,198 President $1,980 $2,118 2024
Co Lab Theater Group Inc NY$369,803 Executive Director Resigned 1/14/24 $89,374 $81,566 2024
Richmond Shakespeare VA$367,435 Managing Director $60,000 $60,238 2023
Capital City Theatre WI$365,982 Managing Director/director $43,652 $47,403 2023
Oklahoma Shakespeare In The Park OK$365,936 Exec & Artis $58,168 $64,689 2024
Ridgway Chautauqua CO$372,005 Executive Director $133,883 $133,487 2023
Ensemble Studio Theatre The La Project CA$372,384 Artistic Director $14,500 $13,019 2023
Prime Stage PA$365,478 Treasurer $7,600 $7,881 2023
Parkway Playhouse Of Burnsville NC$365,272 Exc Director $31,607 $32,984 2024
The Tennessee Williams Theatre Company LA$373,292 Co Artistic Director $24,976 $27,776 2024
Facetime Theatre Inc PA$364,499 Executive Director $17,504 $18,150 2023
American Friends Of Chicken Shed Inc NY$374,584 Ceo & President $55,328 $51,986 2023
Freehold Theatre Lab Studio WA$374,871 Artistic And Founding Partner $32,800 $29,659 2024
Golden Thread Productions CA$374,921 Exec Artist Dir $72,000 $62,792 2024
Bell Tower Productions IA$375,624 President/executive Direct $32,192 $36,651 2023
Assitejusa Dba Theatre For Young Audiences Usainc NY$375,692 Executive Director $96,992 $91,133 2023
Soho Think Tank Inc NY$362,005 Member/ad $47,536 $44,664 2023
Island Star Performances Inc TX$376,544 Vice President $50,441 $50,960 2024
Project Danztheatre Company IL$377,104 Executive Dir. $66,707 $64,527 2025
Rorschach Theatre DC$360,105 Board Of Directors And Co-artistic Director $61,231 $54,267 2024
Centerstage Theatre Company CO$359,823 Board Member $1,200 $1,163 2024
The Theatre Within Inc NY$379,723 President $34,400 $32,322 2023
New York Neo-futurists NY$358,046 Co-artistic Director $67,734 $63,642 2023
Wimberley Players Inc TX$357,953 Technical Director $52,824 $54,943 2023
The Justice Theater Project NC$380,151 Executive Producer $35,700 $37,256 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AZ 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 AZ 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 default11th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)10th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted12th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted11th

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 (Debra Czajkowski) 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 326 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A65), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $11,050 is reasonable (approximately the 11th 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.