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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Lowell's Maritime Foundation Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 061793898
MA · NTEE A50
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Graham Mckay, Executive Director / CEO ($75,602) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 101 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 53rd percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

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

How comparable organizations were selected

101 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 101 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$9,061 total compensation of comparable organizations → $182,306 $75,602
$28,63110th
$48,37625th
$73,707Median
$99,42775th
$129,41090th
$75,602This org · 53rd
p10$28,631
p25$48,376
p50$73,707
p75$99,427
p90$129,410
$75,602

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 MA 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
Galveston Children's Museum TX$459,157 Executive Director $60,659 $69,519 2023
New England Carousel Museum Inc CT$462,629 Executive Dir. $60,192 $62,804 2024
American Saddle Horse KY$465,305 Executive Director $102,750 $122,846 2024
The Edge Motor Museum Inc TN$454,726 Executive Director $85,000 $99,427 2024
River Road African American Museum And Gallery LA$454,431 Executive Director $32,542 $39,876 2024
Hawaiian Railway Society HI$471,022 Key Employee $51,600 $51,410 2024
Fullerton Museum Center Association CA$440,563 Executive Director $120,300 $119,013 2023
Capri Community Film Society Inc AL$483,006 Director $77,678 $96,144 2023
German American Heritage Center IA$437,510 Executive Di $67,083 $81,739 2024
Afro-american Historical Association Of Fauquier County VA$487,717 Pres, Exec Dir $36,664 $39,395 2024
Hawaii Mobile Museum Of Tolerance HI$489,330 Executive Director $130,000 $129,521 2024
Long Island Maritime Museum NY$429,337 Executive Director $75,094 $77,743 2023
Finger Lakes Boating Musuem Inc NY$492,302 Executive Director $75,000 $75,418 2024
National Soaring Museum NY$493,119 Director $73,298 $73,707 2024
Swift Museum Foundation Inc TN$495,234 Exec Director $33,600 $39,303 2024
New England Ski Museum Inc NH$497,445 Executive Director (Former) $70,000 $71,928 2024
La Casa Del Libro Inc PR$497,619 Executive Director $9,061 $9,061 2024
Rancho Obi-wan Inc CA$419,326 President/ce $29,795 $28,631 2024
Southeastern Museums Conference GA$411,676 Executive Director $83,825 $96,564 2023
The Coming King Foundation TX$410,943 Executve Director $33,857 $38,802 2023
German Village Society OH$410,500 Executive Di $83,333 $101,121 2023
The Muzeo Foundation CA$516,592 Executive Dir. $113,033 $105,816 2025
Jacksonville Area Center For Independent IL$519,920 Executive Dir. $50,000 $54,702 2024
Japanese American Museum Of Oregon OR$520,012 Executive Director $110,000 $113,677 2024
Sturgis Motorcycle Museum & Hall Of SD$522,600 Executive Di $87,353 $107,283 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to MA 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 MA 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 default53rd
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)57th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted53rd
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted51st

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 (Graham Mckay) 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 101 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A50), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $75,602 is reasonable (approximately the 53rd 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.