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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Portland Actors Conservatory

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 930966422
OR · NTEE A6E0
FY ending 2023-06-30
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Beth Harper, Executive Director / CEO ($60,123) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 36 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 58th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Beth Harper — reported title “BOARD MEMBER”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

36 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 36 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$4,593 total compensation of comparable organizations → $139,161 $60,123
$25,29710th
$36,14325th
$56,971Median
$68,26675th
$99,02290th
$60,123This org · 58th
p10$25,297
p25$36,143
p50$56,971
p75$68,266
p90$99,022
$60,123

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 OR 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
Gabriela Lena Frank Creative CA$442,499 President $121,801 $113,255 2023
Summerbella CA$449,043 Trustee $24,000 $21,676 2024
Labanbartenieff Institute Of Movement NY$418,184 Executive Dir. $35,000 $34,057 2023
Pakachoag Music School Of Greater MA$418,001 Interim Executive Director $62,107 $58,374 2024
Csehy Summer School Of Music PA$455,372 Executive Director $62,237 $64,915 2024
Pierre Monteux Memorial Foundation ME$457,727 Executive Di $37,000 $38,751 2024
Oregon International Ballet Academy OR$407,407 Executive Dir. $50,000 $48,566 2024
Pioneer School Of Drama KY$470,967 Co-president/managing Director $20,800 $23,373 2024
Oklahoma Youth Orchestras Inc OK$392,168 Executive Di $66,682 $76,799 2024
Young Actors Theater Inc CA$476,689 Executive Director $67,981 $63,211 2023
Wirth Center For The Performing Art MN$486,629 Executive Di $48,000 $48,329 2025
Chehalis Ballet Center WA$379,402 Administrative Director $40,937 $37,347 2025
Ali Akbar College Of Music CA$377,532 President $39,386 $36,623 2023
Pan American Dance Foundation Inc NY$496,732 Vice - President $28,800 $27,220 2024
Community Music School NY$498,574 Executive Director $61,750 $60,086 2023
Bronx School For Music Inc NY$501,301 President $59,044 $57,453 2023
Christian Youth Theater Fredericksburg VA$505,159 Director $55,935 $56,488 2024
Flying Gravity Circus Inc NH$345,186 Exec Director/trustee $53,000 $51,186 2024
Nebraska Music Education NE$338,431 Executive Di $56,650 $63,729 2024
Ascendance Pole And Aerial Arts WA$534,703 Vice Preside $64,769 $62,443 2023
Coro De Ninos De San Juan PR$550,163 Administrator $28,800 $28,800 2023
Community Music School Inc NC$550,768 Executive Director $94,750 $102,399 2024
Crystal Theatre Inc CT$313,678 President, Artistic Director $29,140 $29,421 2023
Music In Schools Today CA$312,240 Executive Dir. $105,900 $95,645 2024
Claude Mcneal's Musical Theatre Training IN$556,577 President And Ceo $73,000 $80,519 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to OR 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 OR 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 default58th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)56th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted61st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted58th

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 (Beth Harper) 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 36 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A6E), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $60,123 is reasonable (approximately the 58th 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.