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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Water Mill Museum

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 113554827
NY · NTEE A50
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Rachel Verno, Executive Director / CEO ($39,179) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 39 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 64th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Rachel Verno — reported title “Director/Mgr”, selected as the organization's highest-paid individual — no exact title match, so confirm this is a comparable role.

How comparable organizations were selected

39 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 39 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$2,258 total compensation of comparable organizations → $79,859 $39,179
$6,31710th
$19,94825th
$34,096Median
$44,02575th
$59,57990th
$39,179This org · 64th
p10$6,317
p25$19,948
p50$34,096
p75$44,025
p90$59,579
$39,179

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 NY 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
Florida Association Of Museums FL$120,156 Executive Director $55,650 $59,564 2023
Mennonite Heritage & Agrcltr Museum KS$120,970 Museum Director/curator $18,915 $23,282 2023
The Sam Houston Masonic Library And Museum Association TX$121,623 Treasurer $3,000 $3,236 2025
Bluegrass Heritage Museum Inc KY$121,829 Executive-di $38,016 $45,199 2024
Aviation Hall Of Fame And Museum Of New Jersey NJ$116,623 Executive Director $40,700 $40,214 2024
Susan B Anthony Birthplace Museum Inc MA$124,399 Executive Director $70,000 $69,612 2024
International Royal Order Of Jesters Inc IN$124,859 Executive Director $11,040 $12,884 2024
Magnes Museum Foundation CA$126,193 Director, Secretary $20,421 $19,514 2024
Museum Of Broadcast Communications IL$127,961 Chairman/treasurer/ceo $36,539 $39,753 2024
The Living Bible Museum Inc OH$128,599 Trustee $12,020 $14,089 2024
Nebraska Firefighters Foundation NE$104,208 Executive Director $31,800 $37,850 2024
Akin Hall Association NY$103,447 Curator $23,400 $24,091 2023
Stuart Heritage Inc FL$96,465 Recording Se $6,336 $6,781 2023
Ct Vivian Foundation Inc GA$143,562 Executive Di $42,000 $45,529 2025
African American Heritage Society TN$149,506 Executive Dir. $27,440 $32,863 2023
Koshare Indian Museum Inc CO$89,322 Manger $50,000 $53,057 2024
Moclips By The Sea Historical Society WA$88,622 Director/curator $4,500 $4,459 2024
Western Maine Play Museum ME$88,376 Executive Di $22,077 $24,464 2024
El Paso Holocaust Museum Foundation TX$86,514 Museum Exec Dir $2,227 $2,538 2023
Mauch Chunk Museum & Cultural PA$153,792 Secretary/tr $17,181 $18,961 2024
The National Museum Of The PA$85,055 Curator & Mu $8,875 $10,083 2023
Ukrainian American MI$83,474 Executive Di $36,000 $42,335 2023
Silver Reef Foundation Inc UT$157,200 Director $20,350 $23,049 2024
Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation CA$81,667 President $22,500 $21,501 2024
Patten Lumbermen's Museum Inc ME$81,354 Secretary/treasurer $31,905 $35,355 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to NY 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 NY 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 default64th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)74th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted64th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted54th

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 (Rachel Verno) 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 39 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A50), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $39,179 is reasonable (approximately the 64th 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.