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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Guild Of American Luthiers

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 911080982
WA · NTEE A6XC
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Tim Olsen, Executive Director / CEO ($55,260) against the 2000 closest of 3,033 comparable organizations — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 42nd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

3,033 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 2,000 within the band form the benchmarked peer set (closest by budget).

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1 total compensation of comparable organizations → $315,993 $55,260
$18,73510th
$39,21325th
$62,129Median
$83,31375th
$102,48990th
$55,260This org · 42nd
p10$18,735
p25$39,213
p50$62,129
p75$83,313
p90$102,489
$55,260

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
Learning First Alliance VA$422,999 Executive Director $114,920 $120,380 2024
The Adam Leventhal Memorial School And CA$422,992 Executive Director $64,780 $62,479 2023
Timothy Mooney Repertory Theatre MI$422,982 President And Executive Direc $51,000 $57,110 2024
Lagrange Art Museum Inc GA$422,931 Executive Di $65,473 $71,421 2024
Anne's Place Inc DC$422,817 Executive Director $115,893 $113,592 2023
Athol-orange Community Television Inc MA$423,553 Executive Director $79,940 $80,236 2023
Rocklin Community Theatre CA$422,636 Executive Director $22,709 $21,273 2024
Yakima Music En Accion WA$423,598 Executive Director $72,018 $69,952 2024
Willamette Jazz Society OR$423,685 Executive Dir. $33,061 $34,292 2023
Roshni CO$423,743 Executive/artistic Director $99,000 $102,988 2024
Florida Insurance Fraud Education Committee FL$424,014 Director (Compensated As Webmaster) $7,821 $7,971 2024
Art In Session Inc FL$422,084 President & Executive Director $27,736 $28,267 2024
Charleston Opera Theater Inc SC$424,145 Executive Artistic Directo $8,950 $9,868 2025
Bartholomew County Historical Society IN$422,075 Executive Director $68,664 $78,557 2024
The Ohio Genealogical Society OH$424,186 Director $144,224 $165,723 2024
Viola Da Gamba Society Of America Inc KS$422,012 Director $8,133 $9,814 2023
More Art Inc NY$424,215 Executive Dir. $40,000 $39,213 2024
Oregon Symphony Association In Salem OR$424,281 President $24,474 $25,386 2023
Aimusic Us CA$424,303 Executive Director $90,750 $82,823 2025
National Food And Beverage Foundation LA$424,500 President/ceo $22,600 $26,999 2024
Theater Alliance Of Washington Dc DC$421,630 Executive Dir. $34,941 $33,265 2024
Benitolink Inc CA$424,646 Executive Dir. $66,560 $62,353 2024
Main Street Arts Inc NY$424,719 Executive Director & Curat $81,818 $82,578 2023
Cmw Support Corporation RI$424,726 Founder & Artistic Director $25,947 $26,993 2024
Philosophy Of Science Association OH$421,466 Executive Director (Non-voting) $49,452 $56,823 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 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 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 default42nd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)46th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted43rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted39th

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 (Tim Olsen) 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 2000 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (A), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $55,260 is reasonable (approximately the 42nd 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.