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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Tucson Pops Orchestra

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 942783658
AZ · NTEE A69Z
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Tamara Chaffee, Executive Director / CEO ($1,140) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 934 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 1st percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

934 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 934 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$261 total compensation of comparable organizations → $289,402 $1,140
$5,18210th
$14,91025th
$31,290Median
$52,32775th
$68,46690th
$1,140This org · 1st
p10$5,182
p25$14,910
p50$31,290
p75$52,327
p90$68,466
$1,140

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 AZ 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
Twilight Theatre Inc KS$138,595 Executive Director $27,373 $29,867 2024
Xyayx The Movement Inc NY$139,000 Program Leader $12,335 $11,590 2023
12 Dunemere Inc NY$138,477 Executive Director $17,651 $16,109 2024
Medical Physics Publishing Corporation WI$138,456 General Manager $57,105 $60,233 2024
Ensemble Signal NY$139,458 Executive Director $36,522 $34,316 2023
Hillforest Historical Foundation Inc IN$137,979 Executive Director - Left Mid-year $28,697 $30,565 2024
Natl Washington-rochambeau Rev Rt A MD$139,631 Executive Di $32,800 $30,971 2024
Beacon Performing Arts Center Ltd NY$139,715 Co-founder $28,846 $27,103 2023
Sun Valley Opera Company ID$139,781 Executive Di $60,667 $65,180 2024
Youth Excellence Performing Arts Workshop OH$137,763 Executive Director $29,565 $31,626 2024
Dorland Mountain Arts Colony CA$139,902 Executive Dir. $18,517 $16,149 2024
The William E Swigart Jr Automobile Museum PA$140,026 Treasurer $9,855 $9,925 2024
Santee Summer Ministry Inc SC$137,549 Pastor $10,000 $10,536 2024
York County Honors Choirs Inc PA$137,484 Executive Director $26,000 $26,186 2024
Dstl Arts CA$137,332 Founder, Executive Director; President $14,325 $12,493 2024
Exit 12 Dance Company Inc NY$137,207 Executive Director & Board Director $4,956 $4,523 2024
Mistral Music Inc MA$137,198 Artistic Director $20,250 $17,905 2025
Design Sacramento CA$140,644 Executive Director $24,900 $21,716 2024
Soul's Harbor Inc ME$140,687 President $63,700 $64,421 2024
Peterborough Historical Society NH$136,828 Executive Direc $68,827 $64,186 2024
Great Small Works Inc NY$136,745 Board Member $14,200 $12,960 2024
The Glenn L Martin MD$136,329 Executive Dir. $69,396 $65,525 2024
Camp Aldersgate Foundation AR$136,118 Director $11,653 $13,229 2024
Scottsboro-jackson Heritage Center AL$141,493 Director $20,196 $22,036 2024
The Chicago Club Preservation Foundation IL$141,514 Management Representative $29,859 $29,647 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to AZ 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 AZ 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 default1st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)1st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted5th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted1st

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 (Tamara Chaffee) 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 934 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (A), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $1,140 is reasonable (approximately the 1st 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.