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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Lightbox Film Center

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 994192058
PA · NTEE A20
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Jesse Pires, Executive Director / CEO ($21,000) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 124 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 28th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

124 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 124 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$933 total compensation of comparable organizations → $287,341 $21,000
$5,31310th
$16,37425th
$34,801Median
$59,12575th
$70,87590th
$21,000This org · 28th
p10$5,313
p25$16,374
p50$34,801
p75$59,125
p90$70,875
$21,000

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 PA 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
West Nebraska Arts Center NE$155,385 Executive Di $43,358 $46,763 2024
Frank Theatre MN$156,939 Secretary $60,000 $59,451 2024
Lewistown Art Center MT$157,562 Executive Di $31,346 $34,884 2023
Tyler Park Center For The Arts Inc PA$157,663 Executive Director $15,000 $15,000 2024
Bruce Lee Foundation Inc CA$149,396 Executive Director $100,248 $89,368 2023
District One Community Education PA$148,914 Executive Di $35,000 $34,098 2025
Oklahoma Mural Syndicate OK$158,724 President $3,998 $4,545 2023
Fremont Center For The Arts CO$159,801 Executive Director $13,884 $13,744 2023
Granary Art Center UT$146,593 Executive Director $60,000 $59,991 2025
Waterloo Arts OH$161,096 Executive Di $43,333 $46,024 2024
Island Community House Inc VA$144,658 Executive Director $65,960 $65,750 2023
National Storytelling Membership Association Inc MO$163,293 Operations $11,598 $12,318 2024
Theater Resources Unlimited Inc NY$144,204 Executive Direc, President $24,150 $22,529 2023
Collaborative Institute Of Cultural Arts IL$144,152 Director $9,520 $9,662 2023
Betti Ono Foundation CA$143,415 Ceo/presiden $193,948 $172,900 2023
Krewe Of Seaman Inc LA$143,094 President $73,500 $81,158 2024
Artseed CA$165,991 Exec Dir/secty $39,874 $34,527 2024
Design Sacramento CA$140,644 Executive Director $24,900 $21,561 2024
Viva Voices Choral Organization Inc KY$166,955 President $49,250 $51,692 2025
City College Center For NY$167,400 Managing Director $71,969 $65,214 2024
Classic Planning Instit ME$167,461 Social Media $9,515 $9,554 2024
Center For Arts & Learning Inc VT$168,343 Executive Director $28,411 $29,523 2023
Ne Sculpture Gallery Factory MN$168,662 Secretary $59,833 $59,286 2024
Appalachian Arts Craft Center Inc TN$168,701 Executive Director $48,115 $50,716 2024
12 Dunemere Inc NY$138,477 Executive Director $17,651 $15,994 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to PA 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 PA 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 default28th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)27th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted29th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted25th

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 (Jesse Pires) 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 124 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A20), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $21,000 is reasonable (approximately the 28th 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.