Executive Director / CEO
This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Belinda E Lowe Schmahl, Executive Director / CEO ($18,201) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 127 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.
Compensation sits at approximately the 11th percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations
Benchmarked executive: Belinda E Lowe Schmahl — reported title “EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR”, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyprus American Archaeological Research | VA | $325,875 | Executive Director | $66,417 | $76,460 | 2023 |
| Friends Of Linden Hill Inc | MN | $327,202 | Executive Director | $71,521 | $81,842 | 2024 |
| John Hope Franklin Center For | OK | $323,443 | Executive Director | $21,374 | $28,061 | 2023 |
| Clackamas Heritage Partners | OR | $323,041 | Executive Director | $41,667 | $46,135 | 2023 |
| Veterans Breakfast Club | PA | $329,512 | Executive Di | $98,385 | $116,978 | 2023 |
| Preservation Pennsylvania | PA | $321,267 | Executive Di | $84,000 | $97,009 | 2024 |
| Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation | PA | $331,028 | Executive Di | $27,415 | $31,661 | 2024 |
| Colorado Music Hall Of Fame | CO | $331,686 | Executive Di | $150,800 | $167,456 | 2024 |
| Loudoun Laurels | VA | $319,215 | Executive Di | $59,000 | $65,972 | 2024 |
| Bessemer Historical Society Inc | CO | $332,515 | Executive Director | $86,409 | $95,953 | 2024 |
| Eldridge Park Carousel Preservation | NY | $332,587 | General Manager/director | $43,952 | $45,994 | 2024 |
| Honor Flight New England Inc | NH | $318,561 | Executive Director | $61,963 | $66,259 | 2024 |
| David Labkovski Project | CA | $333,503 | Executive Director | $117,075 | $117,075 | 2024 |
| Srs Heritage Foundation Inc | SC | $337,123 | Comptroller | $4,302 | $5,197 | 2024 |
| Yellowstone Historic Center Inc | MT | $314,151 | Executive Director | $75,000 | $96,390 | 2023 |
| 100th Bomb Group Foundation Inc | MI | $337,821 | Executive Vp, Director | $5,000 | $6,154 | 2023 |
| Connectcr Inc | IA | $313,491 | Director Of Organizational | $9,499 | $12,045 | 2024 |
| Historic Downtown Liberty Inc | MO | $313,195 | Executive Di | $75,474 | $92,575 | 2024 |
| Greater Ashmont Main Street Inc | MA | $310,482 | Executive Director | $58,991 | $59,807 | 2025 |
| Buffalo Heritage Carousel Inc | NY | $310,356 | Executive Director | $1,771 | $1,853 | 2024 |
| Bandera Natural History And Art Museum | TX | $341,572 | Director Of Operations | $16,600 | $19,798 | 2023 |
| Women's Club Foundation Inc | MD | $341,970 | Executive Director | $18,105 | $19,602 | 2024 |
| Wegner Arboretum Society | SD | $309,451 | Executive Dir. | $60,005 | $76,692 | 2024 |
| Centre County Historical Society | PA | $342,593 | Executive Director | $39,833 | $46,002 | 2024 |
| Doylestown Historical Society Np | PA | $307,622 | Executive Director | $36,410 | $43,290 | 2023 |
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 | 11th |
| Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments) | 14th |
| Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted | 14th |
| All sources (D + E + F), adjusted | 10th |
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.