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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Cortland County Historical Society Inc

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 150555683
NY · NTEE A82Z
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Tabitha Scoville, Executive Director / CEO ($58,500) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 79 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 59th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

How comparable organizations were selected

79 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 79 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,568 total compensation of comparable organizations → $161,156 $58,500
$16,89310th
$33,62525th
$50,602Median
$70,70475th
$83,24190th
$58,500This org · 59th
p10$16,893
p25$33,625
p50$50,602
p75$70,704
p90$83,241
$58,500

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.

OrganizationStateTotal revenueTotal compSource
Historic Huntsville Foundation IncAL $200,653$75,426 990
Lowell Area Historical MuseumMI $201,437$43,523 990
Shaker Historical SocietyOH $204,842$73,074 990
Edisto Historical PreservationSC $206,694$72,734 990
Napa County Historical SocietyCA $209,695$74,477 990
Wellesley Historical Society IncMA $209,961$57,492 990
Historic General Dodge House IncIA $190,891$55,890 990
James Whites FortTN $210,761$39,219 990
Portage County Historical Society IncWI $188,224$51,561 990
Mower County Historical SocietyMN $186,707$57,763 990
Chippewa County Historical SocietyMN $215,141$43,346 990
Fort Mifflin On The DelawarePA $216,140$75,215 990
Peerless Rockville Historic Preservation LtdMD $216,963$99,184 990
Texas Wendish Heritage Society IncTX $182,746$23,340 990
Madison County Historical SocietyNY $181,584$27,639 990
Worthington Historical Society IncOH $180,212$42,681 990
Buffalo Bill Dam Visitor CenterWY $220,679$33,759 990
Fort Mill Economic PartnersSC $221,807$41,607 990
The Scituate Historical SocietyMA $178,481$27,030 990
Island County Historical SocietyWA $223,467$37,723 990
Montgomery County HistoricalNY $223,779$29,955 990
Western North Carolina Historical Association IncNC $176,258$84,367 990
Preserve Clarksville IncTX $174,600$34,191 990
Downtown Asheboro IncNC $174,078$10,460 990
Ligonier Valley Historical SocietyPA $174,053$71,705 990

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 default59th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)66th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted61st
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted58th

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 (Tabitha Scoville) 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 79 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A82), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $58,500 is reasonable (approximately the 59th 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). 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.