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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Colorado West Performing Arts

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 872651119
CO · NTEE A90
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Theresa Kahl, Executive Director / CEO ($9,843) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 46 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 2nd percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: Theresa Kahl — reported title “EXECUTIVE DI”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

46 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 46 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$4,954 total compensation of comparable organizations → $179,376 $9,843
$28,80910th
$45,25625th
$72,120Median
$84,23175th
$121,75390th
$9,843This org · 2nd
p10$28,809
p25$45,256
p50$72,120
p75$84,231
p90$121,753
$9,843

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 CO 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
San Jose Multicultural Artists Guild Inc CA$464,731 Executive Dir. $35,900 $33,284 2023
Zygote Press Inc OH$466,315 Executive Di $81,080 $89,559 2024
The Episcopal Actors' Guild NY$462,407 Executive Di $194,093 $178,194 2025
River Oaks Square Arts & Craft Center LA$458,843 Executive Dir. $61,445 $72,645 2023
Society For History And Racial MI$477,508 Executive Di $72,488 $80,333 2023
Chicago Artists Coalition IL$451,588 Executive Director $50,329 $53,126 2023
Jamestowne Society Inc VA$491,201 Executive Director $62,275 $62,708 2024
Arts & Business Council Of Miami Inc FL$438,365 Executive Director $99,000 $94,491 2025
Augusta Ferry Authority Inc KY$492,569 President $23,492 $26,321 2024
Common Wealth Mural Collaborative MA$496,966 President $84,423 $79,117 2024
Latitude Inc Nfp IL$499,033 Executive Director $75,000 $74,914 2025
Workshop 13 Inc MA$428,532 Executive Di $59,780 $56,023 2024
Chatfield Center For The Arts Inc MN$427,659 Part Year Ex $65,865 $67,873 2024
Studio By The Tracks Inc AL$506,184 Executive Director $63,545 $71,594 2024
Community Artists Collective TX$508,383 Exec Dir $40,000 $41,728 2024
Arte Y Mana Inc PR$419,663 Executive Director $85,230 $85,230 2024
Holly Springs Center SC$419,104 Executive Di $35,316 $39,558 2023
Interurban Arthouse KS$514,711 Chief Executive Officer $71,655 $83,115 2023
Lawyers For The Creative Arts IL$516,381 Executive Dir. $135,400 $138,823 2024
Springtime Tallahassee Festival Inc FL$413,087 Executive Director $52,929 $53,386 2023
Georgia Lawyers For The Arts Inc GA$517,427 Executive Director $162,500 $175,431 2023
Noblesville Creates IN$520,481 Executive Director $74,450 $84,297 2023
Ogden First Inc UT$520,800 Executive Director $69,390 $74,065 2024
The Writers Room NY$522,020 Director $154,643 $150,037 2023
Hero Workshop CA$523,629 Chief Executive Officer $43,846 $39,485 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CO 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 CO 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 default2nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)2nd
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted2nd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted2nd

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 (Theresa Kahl) 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 46 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A90), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $9,843 is reasonable (approximately the 2nd 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.