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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Embracing Our Differences

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 873289021
MI · NTEE A25
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Lynn Settles, Executive Director / CEO ($25,440) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 158 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 26th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Lynn Settles — reported title “SECRETARY”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

158 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 158 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$144 total compensation of comparable organizations → $198,250 $25,440
$8,85610th
$24,24525th
$45,055Median
$67,19875th
$81,95190th
$25,440This org · 26th
p10$8,856
p25$24,245
p50$45,055
p75$67,198
p90$81,951
$25,440

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 MI 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
Cape Ann Art Haven Inc MA$294,868 Executive Director/treasurer $60,000 $52,237 2023
Aspireconservatory Of Fine & Performing Arts Inc KY$295,157 Treasurer $47,709 $49,660 2023
Community Center For The Arts IL$293,638 President, Executive Director $25,016 $23,143 2024
Little Eagle Arts Foundation WI$293,631 Executive Director $32,280 $31,724 2024
Friends Of Mcgroarty Cultural Arts Cntr CA$296,370 Executive Dir. $34,005 $26,920 2025
Northeast Iowa School Of Music IA$292,244 Board Member $144 $144 2025
Union Hall CO$292,190 Executive Di $52,832 $47,672 2024
Summertime Gallery Inc NY$300,481 Gallery Director $51,154 $44,784 2023
Manship Artist Residence And Studios Inc MA$287,794 President $38,000 $33,083 2023
Northville Art House Inc MI$287,460 Executive Di $70,000 $67,992 2024
San Francisco Writers Conference CA$286,328 President $18,000 $14,627 2024
Center For Architecture And Design CA$285,759 Executive Director $11,142 $9,321 2023
Oregon Arts Watch OR$304,412 Executive Director $24,000 $20,433 2025
Lancaster Creative Factory PA$284,765 Executive Director $25,000 $24,154 2023
Art Explorers Inc CA$305,597 Co Director $59,405 $48,272 2024
Bocon Inc CA$305,928 Executive Dir. $83,499 $67,850 2024
West Texas Conservatory TX$283,329 President $46,928 $45,480 2023
Nomadstudio Inc FL$307,266 Executive Director $48,083 $42,507 2024
Santa Theresa Tileworks (Imago Dei AZ$307,319 President $29,858 $27,022 2024
Junior High Incorporated CA$281,645 Executive Director $32,000 $26,003 2024
Actors Garage NY$308,152 Trustee $152,016 $129,267 2024
National Conservatory Of Dramatic Arts DC$308,410 President $34,706 $28,660 2024
Milton Art Center Inc MA$309,748 Executive Director $95,220 $82,899 2023
Overflow Fine Arts Inc FL$310,576 President $19,036 $16,829 2024
Allegheny Riverstone Center For The PA$279,022 Executive Director $30,000 $28,153 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MI 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 MI 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 default26th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)24th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted27th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted25th

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 (Lynn Settles) 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 158 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A25), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $25,440 is reasonable (approximately the 26th 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.