Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Paul Blake, Executive Director / CEO ($300) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 578 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 0th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations
Benchmarked executive: Paul Blake — reported title “President”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.
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.
| Organization | State | Revenue | Matched title | Comp (reported) | Comp (adjusted) | FY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The American Classic Arcade Museum | NH | $105,991 | Director | $18,200 | $20,037 | 2023 |
| Chambersburg Area Council For The | PA | $105,989 | Executive Director | $30,530 | $35,258 | 2024 |
| Art At A Time Like This Inc | NY | $105,980 | President | $9,250 | $9,966 | 2023 |
| Virginia Choral Society Inc | VA | $105,978 | Artistic Director | $20,085 | $21,879 | 2025 |
| Salvage Vanguard Theater | TX | $107,275 | Artistic Director | $64,600 | $77,045 | 2023 |
| Swiss Heritage Society Inc | IN | $105,467 | President | $18,692 | $22,828 | 2024 |
| Committee For A Better New Orleans | LA | $107,720 | Executive Director | $80,000 | $102,016 | 2024 |
| Jezebel Productions Inc | NY | $105,154 | Executive Di | $22,000 | $23,022 | 2024 |
| Huntington African American Museum Inc | NY | $107,966 | Executive Director | $26,522 | $27,754 | 2024 |
| Parkway High School Band Boosters Inc | LA | $108,314 | Main Treasurer | $24,000 | $30,605 | 2024 |
| Out At The Movies | NC | $104,603 | Executive Director Effective Aug 2024 | $13,902 | $16,635 | 2024 |
| Swedish Historical Society Of Rockford | IL | $104,529 | Executive Director | $55,978 | $65,614 | 2023 |
| Austin Celtic Association | TX | $104,482 | At-large | $33,000 | $38,228 | 2024 |
| Fairhope Film Festival Inc | AL | $108,523 | Executive Director | $16,000 | $20,610 | 2023 |
| Nashville Ballet Foundation | TN | $108,590 | Artistic Director/ceo | $4,054 | $4,935 | 2024 |
| Nebraska Firefighters Foundation | NE | $104,208 | Executive Director | $31,800 | $39,609 | 2024 |
| The Etruscan Foundation | MI | $108,868 | Exec. Direct | $52,000 | $62,157 | 2024 |
| Chinese Christian Church Music Institute | CA | $104,020 | Admin | $25,500 | $25,500 | 2024 |
| Music From China Inc | NY | $104,010 | Executive Director | $28,200 | $29,510 | 2024 |
| Smh Support Corporation | NY | $104,003 | Chairperson | $77,265 | $83,243 | 2023 |
| The Trey Clegg Singers Inc | GA | $103,947 | Founder/director | $24,000 | $27,946 | 2024 |
| Elivy Youth Performing Arts Institute | IL | $109,056 | Treasurer | $3,120 | $3,552 | 2024 |
| Persephone Productions Inc | VA | $109,079 | Ceo | $80,506 | $90,020 | 2024 |
| Da Capo Virginia | VA | $103,840 | Executive & Vivo Director/past-president | $43,633 | $48,789 | 2024 |
| Waynesboro Community Theatre Project Inc | PA | $109,329 | Director | $29,879 | $34,506 | 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.
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.
Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:
| Basis | Subject percentile |
|---|---|
| Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default | 0th |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 0th |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 7th |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 0th |
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.
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
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.