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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Theatre Puget Sound

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 911779663
WA · NTEE A65
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Crystal Yingling, Executive Director / CEO ($83,160) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 306 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 93rd percentile of comparable organizationsabove the 90th percentile — board review recommended

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

How comparable organizations were selected

306 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 306 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$752 total compensation of comparable organizations → $143,389 $83,160
$10,31310th
$25,96725th
$44,991Median
$62,38975th
$77,19690th
$83,160This org · 93rd
p10$10,313
p25$25,967
p50$44,991
p75$62,389
p90$77,196
$83,160

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
Childrens Musical Theatreworks Inc CA$336,869 Executive Dir. $12,000 $11,242 2024
Acting Out Theater Company Inc MA$337,474 President/tr $39,000 $38,021 2024
The Paper Bag Players Inc NY$336,631 Executive Di $20,576 $20,172 2024
Mile High Youth Theatre Inc CO$337,898 Executive Director $55,042 $55,783 2025
Theatre Rhinoceros Inc CA$336,121 Executive Dir. $78,500 $71,643 2025
Glass Half Full Theatre TX$338,468 Co-producing Artistic Director $42,696 $46,335 2024
Chicago Latino Theater Alliance IL$335,630 Executive Di $113,866 $118,316 2025
Jean Shelton Foundation CA$338,712 Executive Director $15,000 $14,052 2024
Fairbanks Drama Association AK$334,859 Executive Director $86,120 $87,022 2025
North Carolina Theatre Conference NC$334,224 Executive Director $108,150 $118,109 2025
The Winterset Iowa Theater IA$340,600 President $5,000 $5,940 2024
Merely Players CO$333,603 Member $1,000 $1,040 2024
Los Angeles Theatresports CA$333,547 Board Member $780 $752 2023
30 By Ninety Theatre Inc LA$341,146 Treasurer $36,000 $43,006 2024
Theatre With A Twist Inc MA$333,118 Director $43,569 $42,475 2024
Kidz Konnection Inc CT$333,085 President $50,833 $50,375 2025
Musical Youth Artist Repertory Theatre CA$332,871 President $75,955 $73,257 2023
Germantown Community Theatre Inc TN$332,841 Executive Director $53,420 $59,348 2025
Redtwist Theatre IL$342,425 Artist Director $14,805 $15,790 2024
Playpenn Inc PA$331,512 Artistic Dir $88,952 $96,236 2024
Theatre Forty CA$343,128 Secretary $61,354 $55,996 2025
Umpqua Actors Community Theatre OR$331,066 Executive Director $64,477 $64,960 2024
Master Arts Theatre MI$331,057 Artistic Dir $37,693 $42,209 2024
Longview Act TX$330,966 Executive Director $60,108 $65,232 2024
Barebones Productions Inc PA$343,995 Artistic Dir $50,000 $54,095 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 default93rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)94th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted94th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted93rd

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 (Crystal Yingling) 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 306 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A65), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $83,160 is reasonable (approximately the 93rd 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.