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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Upfront Theatre

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 861337799
WA · NTEE A65
FY ending 2024-08-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Samantah Jolly, Executive Director / CEO ($5,038) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 224 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 10th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

224 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 224 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$909 total compensation of comparable organizations → $110,492 $5,038
$5,13410th
$14,68725th
$31,909Median
$50,56875th
$66,13090th
$5,038This org · 10th
p10$5,134
p25$14,687
p50$31,909
p75$50,568
p90$66,130
$5,038

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 WA 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
A Host Of People Inc MI$211,567 Secretary $18,936 $21,831 2024
Teatro De La Luna DC$211,505 Producer $18,638 $18,268 2024
Recreational Arts Inc NJ$211,220 President $16,938 $16,891 2024
Piper Theatre Productions Inc NY$212,121 Artistic Director $10,000 $10,391 2023
Southern Plain Productions OK$210,644 Artistic Dir. $33,612 $41,339 2024
Oklahoma Shakespearean Festival OK$209,969 Coker $34,975 $43,016 2024
Staten Island Shakespearean Theatre Co NY$213,428 Director $57,693 $58,229 2024
Dogteam Theatre Project Inc VT$213,541 Co-president $2,520 $2,833 2024
Music Box Players PA$209,622 President $1,615 $1,799 2024
Pones Inc KY$213,740 Executive Director & Ex Officio Board Director $32,350 $38,820 2024
Mixed Magic Theatre & Cultural Events RI$209,376 Director $20,500 $21,956 2024
The Best Production Company Inc CT$213,919 Managing Director $25,000 $26,954 2023
Ten Fifteen Productions OR$213,974 Executive Director $42,509 $44,092 2024
Story Theater Company IA$209,154 President $2,635 $3,223 2024
Lunchtime Productions CA$209,049 Executive Dir. $42,834 $42,532 2023
Asbury Park Theater Company NJ$208,816 Executive Director $24,324 $24,257 2024
Innervision Theatre Arts Center Inc NY$215,083 Director $9,360 $9,447 2024
Staretthe Directors Company Inc NY$215,411 Executive Dir. $1,000 $1,040 2023
Trademark Theater MN$215,463 Founder/artistic Director $23,493 $25,259 2025
Restoration Stage Inc MD$207,234 Executive Dir $50,098 $53,859 2023
Evergreen Players Inc CO$207,078 Executive Director $58,055 $64,014 2023
Saltworks Theatre Company PA$206,405 Executive Director $71,749 $79,917 2024
Dandylyon Drama WA$205,579 Artistic Director $31,973 $31,973 2024
Vivid Stage Inc NJ$217,741 Artistic Director $30,000 $29,146 2025
Bright Lights Theatre TX$205,508 President And Exec Dir $17,750 $19,320 2025

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WA 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 WA 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 default10th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)11th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted10th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted9th

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 (Samantah Jolly) 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 224 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A65), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $5,038 is reasonable (approximately the 10th 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.