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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Classical Kids Music Education Nfp

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 870813161
IL · NTEE A69
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Paul Pement, Executive Director / CEO ($104,875) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 85 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 98th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

85 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 85 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$612 total compensation of comparable organizations → $117,116 $104,875
$7,81010th
$26,63825th
$46,447Median
$65,65775th
$83,98090th
$104,875This org · 98th
p10$7,810
p25$26,638
p50$46,447
p75$65,657
p90$83,980
$104,875

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
Chamber Music Center Of New NY$339,122 Artistic Dir $71,625 $65,834 2025
Monticello Opera House Inc FL$338,277 Executive Director $50,417 $50,912 2023
Longview Symphony League TX$342,620 Executive Di $50,634 $52,883 2024
The Hershey Symphony Orchestra PA$344,049 Executive Di $25,000 $25,359 2025
Elmhurst Symphony Association Inc IL$333,330 Executive Director $45,250 $46,447 2024
Mankato Symphony Orchestra Inc MN$344,402 Executive Director $69,892 $70,247 2025
Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra Inc WI$344,700 Executive Director (Current) $38,231 $41,688 2024
Mountain West String Academy UT$345,567 Executive Dir. $55,503 $57,782 2025
Riverside Symphony Inc NY$346,730 President/di $73,525 $71,418 2023
Orchestra Santa Monica Association CA$329,123 Music Director $21,500 $18,884 2025
The Capitol Symphonic Youth Orchestras Inc VA$327,611 Executive Director $50,400 $50,809 2024
Fredericksburg Symphony Orchestra VA$351,726 Executive Di $25,666 $26,638 2023
Dream Orchestra Inc CA$353,195 President $60,000 $55,692 2023
Enid Symphony Association OK$354,358 Music Director/ Ceo $40,600 $46,677 2024
Santa Monica Youth Orchestra CA$355,404 Executive Director $85,378 $76,974 2024
Juneau Symphony Inc AK$358,417 Executive Di $68,933 $70,841 2023
Chamber Orchestra Of New York NY$364,933 Music Director $52,500 $49,532 2024
The Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra Inc CT$365,834 Executive Director $60,000 $58,737 2024
Eureka Symphony CA$366,053 Artistic Director/conductor $40,000 $35,133 2025
Heartland Festival Orchestra IL$366,821 Trustee $86,950 $89,251 2024
Southeastern Minnesota Youth MN$310,682 Executive Di $44,637 $44,864 2025
Yarnwire Inc NY$371,254 Executive Director $66,350 $62,599 2024
Bismarck-mandan Orchestral Association ND$371,459 Board Member/ Music Direct $64,006 $73,337 2024
Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra Inc VA$373,877 Executive Director $36,593 $36,890 2024
Pueblo Symphony Association Inc CO$303,796 Orch. Rep. $7,398 $7,625 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to IL cost of living and 2025 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 default98th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)96th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted96th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted95th

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 (Paul Pement) 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 85 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A69), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $104,875 is reasonable (approximately the 98th 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.