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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Sam First

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 923968442
CA · NTEE A68
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of David Robaire, Executive Director / CEO ($35,305) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 28 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 21st percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

Benchmarked executive: David Robaire — reported title “EXECUTIVE & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

28 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 28 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,000 total compensation of comparable organizations → $116,907 $35,305
$18,96310th
$40,53825th
$64,341Median
$85,90875th
$95,24990th
$35,305This org · 21st
p10$18,963
p25$40,538
p50$64,341
p75$85,908
p90$95,249
$35,305

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 CA 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
Art Of Elan CA$461,100 Executive Director $78,916 $78,916 2024
Young Artists Conservatory Of Music CA$459,777 Executive Director And Former Brd Director $28,000 $28,827 2023
Mercury Soul Inc CA$463,634 Executive Dir. $120,000 $116,907 2025
Ppc Entertainment Inc CA$480,329 Artistic Dir. $69,583 $69,583 2024
Tahoe School Of Music CA$435,812 Director $62,313 $62,313 2024
Noe Valley Chamber Music CA$495,560 Co-artistic Director And Co-executive Director, Board Member $74,107 $72,197 2025
Bach Dancing And Dynamite Society Inc CA$496,421 President & Ceo $85,532 $85,532 2024
Aimusic Us CA$424,303 Executive Director $90,750 $88,411 2025
Jazz At The Ballroom Inc CA$416,145 Executive Direc $2,414 $2,485 2023
Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra CA$405,189 President $40,000 $41,181 2023
The Maestro Foundation CA$516,427 Secretary $100,291 $100,291 2024
Hip Hop For Change Inc CA$523,175 Executive Director $48,640 $48,640 2024
Redtone Records CA$395,896 Ed/pres/boar $14,230 $14,650 2023
Little Village Foundation CA$392,844 Executive Director $86,000 $88,540 2023
Voices Of Music Inc CA$539,834 Trustee $65,673 $65,673 2024
Global Arts Corporation CA$380,948 Ceo $63,009 $63,009 2024
Chamber Music Monterey Bay CA$373,584 Operations Manager $69,075 $69,075 2024
Take Me To The River Education CA$368,685 Board Member $37,500 $38,608 2023
Guitar Foundation Of America CA$554,451 President $20,833 $20,833 2024
Camarada Inc CA$356,020 Executive Director $72,750 $70,875 2025
Jacarandamusic CA$347,407 Artistic & E $48,000 $48,000 2024
Youth Orchestras Of Fresno CA$581,797 Executive Dir. $20,215 $20,812 2023
Music At Kohl Mansion Inc CA$336,836 Exec. Dir. $90,417 $93,088 2023
Braver Players Musical Theater Foundation CA$326,173 President $50,000 $50,000 2024
Youth Philharmonic Orchestra CA$595,821 President, Executive Director And Director $51,000 $51,000 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to CA 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 CA 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 default21st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)21st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted25th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted21st

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 (David Robaire) 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 28 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A68) + CA + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $35,305 is reasonable (approximately the 21st 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.