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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Assoc For Preservation Of Historic

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 237125857
LA · NTEE A800
FY ending 2024-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Gayle Howell, Executive Director / CEO ($3,050) against every comparable organization that fit the selection criteria — 121 in total — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 1st percentile of comparable organizationsbelow the typical range for comparable organizations

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

How comparable organizations were selected

121 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 121 within the band form the benchmarked peer set.

Distribution of comparable compensation

$1,453 total compensation of comparable organizations → $161,162 $3,050
$15,37210th
$34,01625th
$56,142Median
$75,24675th
$91,73390th
$3,050This org · 1st
p10$15,372
p25$34,016
p50$56,142
p75$75,246
p90$91,733
$3,050

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 LA 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
Historic Homestake Opera House SD$392,649 Executive Di $33,288 $33,364 2024
Carousel Of Happiness Inc CO$392,609 Executive Director $64,942 $56,552 2024
El Campanil Theatre Preservation CA$391,222 Executive Dir. $68,846 $53,988 2024
Historic Fourth Ward School Foundation NV$400,141 Executive Director $73,987 $67,351 2024
The Sandy Hook Foundation Inc NJ$401,760 Executive Di $113,000 $91,624 2024
Model T Ford Club Of America IN$387,385 Executive Director $62,800 $60,144 2024
Heart Of The Civil War Heritage Area Inc MD$385,446 Executive Director $86,959 $73,832 2024
Blackpastorg WA$385,282 Executive Director $70,000 $58,597 2023
Patriotic Productions Inc NE$380,942 President $75,000 $75,421 2023
Milwaukee Preservation Alliance WI$410,530 Executive Dir. $50,671 $49,478 2023
Presque Isle Light Station PA$379,832 Executive Director $62,500 $58,274 2023
Historic Riverside Cemetery GA$378,369 President $85,605 $76,153 2025
Great Basin Heritage Area NV$413,585 Executive Di $103,086 $96,612 2023
Historic Downtown Chelan Association WA$413,780 Executive Dir. $95,250 $77,445 2024
Oregon Black Pioneers Corporation OR$376,648 Executive Director $67,708 $58,789 2023
Gig Harbor Waterfront Alliance WA$413,983 Executive Director $73,944 $60,122 2024
Uncommon Friends Foundation Inc FL$414,906 Executive Director $80,000 $68,251 2024
Theodore Roosevelt Association NY$418,767 Ceo $66,000 $54,162 2024
North-south Skirmish Association Inc VA$419,866 Property Manager $60,991 $55,061 2023
The Finca Vigia Foundation Inc MA$368,460 Executive Director $156,037 $127,339 2024
The Adam Leventhal Memorial School And CA$422,992 Executive Director $64,780 $52,300 2023
The Plano Conservancy For Historic Preservation I TX$365,451 Executive Director $58,516 $51,788 2025
Washington County Historical PA$426,056 Executive Di $45,169 $40,907 2024
Minnesota Masonic Historic Buildings MN$360,487 Ceo - Charities $32,555 $29,213 2024
Hulls Angels Inc VA$359,458 Executive Director $29,743 $26,081 2024

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to LA 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 LA 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 default1st
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)1st
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted5th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted1st

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 (Gayle Howell) 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 121 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE sector (A80), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $3,050 is reasonable (approximately the 1st 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.