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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Masa Center

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 881740776
MI · NTEE A20
FY ending 2025-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Nerli Paredes Ruvalcaba, Executive Director / CEO ($33,334) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 322 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 29th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

322 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 322 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$280 total compensation of comparable organizations → $150,520 $33,334
$10,89410th
$28,31625th
$49,091Median
$67,70575th
$82,55290th
$33,334This org · 29th
p10$10,894
p25$28,316
p50$49,091
p75$67,705
p90$82,552
$33,334

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
The Saco River Theatre ME$315,634 President/executive Dir. $38,000 $38,959 2023
Art Sandy Springs Inc GA$316,160 Treasurer $24,013 $23,392 2025
Grass Roots Cultural And Performing MA$315,357 Executive Di $58,000 $53,362 2023
Mill City Farmers Market Charitable Fund MN$314,946 Executive Director $7,953 $7,815 2024
Johnson County Ctr For The Arts TN$314,896 Executive Director $3,692 $3,860 2024
Arts Mission Oak Cliff TX$317,052 Exec. Dir./p $36,000 $35,812 2024
Ma's House & Bipoc Art Studio Inc NY$317,270 President $26,125 $23,476 2024
Dorill Initiative Inc NY$314,146 Executive Director $9,149 $8,464 2023
Tapestry Folkdance Center MN$317,726 Executive Director $52,000 $51,098 2024
Darke County Center For The Arts OH$318,073 Executive Di $31,669 $33,357 2024
Adefua Cultural Education Workshop WA$313,078 Executive Director $36,503 $33,461 2023
Huma House Inc CA$312,288 President $92,400 $77,301 2025
Colorado Celebration Of African American Arts And Culture CO$312,233 Executive Director $5,000 $4,768 2024
Tonatiuh-danzantes Del Quinto Sol CA$320,656 Artistic Director $20,874 $18,454 2023
Milton Artists Guild Inc VT$310,674 Executive Dir. $60,000 $60,058 2024
Arts Alive 45 Inc IL$309,678 President $24,500 $23,953 2024
First Night Monterey CA$309,305 Executive Di $40,919 $35,138 2024
Raga Massive Inc NY$323,178 Executive Director $17,550 $16,236 2023
Tofte Lake Center Inc MN$323,257 Executive Di $36,805 $36,166 2024
Campanile Center For The Arts Inc WI$307,761 Executive Director $62,647 $65,065 2024
Skyes The Limit Foundation Inc AZ$307,598 President $73,025 $69,841 2024
Wham Art Association AZ$306,863 Executive Dir. $49,940 $49,173 2023
Arts Southeast Inc GA$324,853 Executive Director $39,077 $39,074 2024
Creative Nomads Ltd MD$306,365 Executive Director $79,600 $76,192 2023
La Raza Historical Society Of Santa Clara Valley CA$325,923 Director $12,000 $10,609 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MI 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 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 default29th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)29th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted30th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted28th

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 (Nerli Paredes Ruvalcaba) 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 322 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $33,334 is reasonable (approximately the 29th 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.