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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Walla Walla Summer Theater Studios

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 873872074
WA · NTEE A65
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Tyson Kaup, Executive Director / CEO ($70,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 304 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 84th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

304 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 304 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$774 total compensation of comparable organizations → $147,625 $70,000
$8,57710th
$24,12825th
$44,184Median
$62,52975th
$78,60190th
$70,000This org · 84th
p10$8,577
p25$24,128
p50$44,184
p75$62,529
p90$78,601
$70,000

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 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
Port Tobacco Players Inc MD$318,280 President $28,000 $29,238 2024
Stolen Shakespeare Guild TX$319,631 Executive Di $48,166 $53,815 2024
Theatre Macon Inc GA$317,696 Executive Di $59,740 $67,092 2024
Teatro Hispano De Dallas TX$317,399 Executive Director $63,750 $73,331 2023
Kokandy Productions IL$317,321 Producing Artistic Director $9,800 $10,761 2024
Alaska Theatre Of Youth AK$316,999 Exec Dir $20,238 $21,611 2024
Anchorage Community Theater Inc AK$320,704 Executive Dir. $63,675 $67,995 2024
Lights Up Theater Inc CA$315,600 Vice President $75,000 $72,336 2024
Regional Theatre Of The Palouse WA$315,442 President $12,000 $12,000 2024
Actors Guild Of Parkersburg Inc WV$315,308 Interim Technical Director $35,798 $44,571 2023
Baltimore Theatre Project MD$322,398 Executive Director $47,700 $48,525 2025
Theatre Dybbuk CA$314,939 See Sch O $65,149 $62,835 2024
Musical Theatre Factory Inc NY$313,462 President $50,000 $51,955 2023
Cloverdale Playhouse Inc AL$313,352 Operations M $43,820 $52,876 2024
Control Group Productions CO$312,866 Ex Officio/n $42,185 $44,016 2025
Music On The Hill Inc CT$312,763 President, D $30,330 $31,763 2024
Actors Bridge Ensemble Theater Of Nashville Inc TN$312,269 Producing Artistic Director $76,500 $87,500 2025
Theatre Lab Inc NY$310,477 President $21,000 $21,195 2024
Coho Productions Inc OR$327,779 Managing Dir $40,000 $41,490 2024
Carpenter Square Theatre Inc OK$309,628 Executive Artistic Dir $52,955 $63,450 2025
Second Thought Theatre TX$309,488 Executive Director $33,500 $37,429 2024
The Mountain Playhouse PA$309,483 Accountant $12,830 $14,713 2023
Wing-it Productions WA$309,153 Executive Artistic Director $42,249 $43,497 2023
Piven Theatre Workshop IL$308,032 Artistic Dir $59,800 $63,973 2025
Longview Act TX$330,966 Executive Director $60,108 $67,158 2024

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 default84th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)88th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted85th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted84th

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 (Tyson Kaup) 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 304 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A65), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $70,000 is reasonable (approximately the 84th 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.