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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

The Center For Less Unpleasant

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 871365441
NY · NTEE A20
FY ending 2024-05-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Laura Hanna, Executive Director / CEO ($288,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 32 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 100th percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

32 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 32 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $97,486 $288,000
$4,79910th
$7,51525th
$25,002Median
$45,91775th
$57,28190th
$288,000This org · 100th
p10$4,799
p25$7,515
p50$25,002
p75$45,917
p90$57,281
$288,000

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 NY 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
Sentimental Journey Inc PA$87,602 Executive Coordinator $9,909 $10,935 2024
509 Cultural Center CA$88,051 Co-executive Director $50,000 $47,780 2024
Palacios House Of Arts LA$88,100 Executive Director $19,123 $23,991 2023
Leesburg Art Festival Inc FL$83,828 Executive Di $21,731 $22,592 2024
Society Of Animal Artists Inc CO$91,564 Executive Direc $49,000 $51,996 2024
Center For Reflection Education And Action Incorporated CT$80,446 Executive Director $45,000 $46,692 2024
Artlands Creative CA$80,166 Executive Director $25,000 $24,595 2023
Vedanta Institute Houston TX$94,177 Director $8,500 $9,687 2023
Beverlys Exhibitions Corp NY$96,523 Creative Director $6,100 $6,280 2023
El Paso International & Cultural Arts TX$76,381 Artistic Director $4,000 $4,559 2023
In Tandem Arts Inc VT$75,578 Executive Director $45,983 $52,732 2023
Asian Resource Center Of San Antoni TX$75,000 President $1 $1 2023
Alki Art Fair WA$74,872 Rental & Volunteer Director $8,000 $7,926 2024
Dumbo Film Festival NY$74,805 Ceo/director $13,797 $14,205 2023
Noise Salon Inc MA$100,002 Executive Director/ Treasurer $15,914 $16,293 2023
Women Shoah-jewish Placemaking NC$71,779 Executive Director $39,930 $45,659 2024
The Corda Foundation NC$103,285 Treasurer $35,000 $41,204 2023
Bird Island Cultural Centre MN$103,456 Director $1,800 $1,968 2024
Grippo Stage Company Inc IL$67,129 President/artistic Director $30,000 $33,603 2023
Committee For A Better New Orleans LA$107,720 Executive Director $80,000 $97,486 2024
The Arts Project Inc MD$110,552 Executive Director $24,559 $25,409 2024
Belton Center For The Arts SC$111,131 Executive Director $35,077 $40,497 2024
Ruskin Art Club Inc CA$62,321 Executive Dir. $33,662 $32,167 2024
Japan House La Foundation CA$111,910 Ceo $6,000 $5,734 2024
Fluxus Haus Inc FL$61,506 Executive Director $35,000 $36,386 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY 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 NY 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 default100th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)100th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted100th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted100th

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 (Laura Hanna) 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 32 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $288,000 is reasonable (approximately the 100th 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.